Then There Were Five
by ElusiveMuse89
Summary: Slytherin Remus Lupin is re-Sorted and joins Sirius Black, James Potter, Severus Snape, and Peter Pettigrew in Gryffindor. Is he Marauder material,or will Lily Evans and her friends claim him for her group of friends? And what secrets is he hiding?
1. Chapter 1

Then There Were Five

Chapter 1

Second-year Remus Lupin was alone. Sure, he was surrounded by his Slytherin housemates, but it was obvious to him as he stared around the Great Hall that he was alone. At the Hufflepuff table he could see the students whispering quietly together. At the Ravenclaw table he could see his older sister chattering away with a group of friends. At the Gryffindor table, he could see the four popular Marauders, James Potter, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, and Peter Pettigrew, with their heads bent together talking quietly. Remus winced inwardly at this last observation. No doubt the Marauders were plotting something nasty, most likely using the Slytherins as their main targets.

Remus turned his head as the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall led the first years inside to be Sorted. Remus sighed. Even the firsties weren't alone. They at least had each other to huddle with until they were Sorted, and after that they would have their housemates to lean on. Remus, however, had the misfortune of being a shy half-blood whose blood status was discovered within a few days of being Sorted into Slytherin. After that, his life at Hogwarts was a living hell.

Remus glanced tentatively down the table at his fellow Slytherins. There were two obviously empty spaces on either side of him. No one was paying any attention to him. Remus wondered if anyone would notice if he suddenly disappeared from sight. Probably not, he decided. This would be a difficult year. Last year some of the Slytherins were getting curious about his occasional disappearances. Likely this year they would change from curious to suspicious. From there- that was a chilling thought. If they treated him like this just because he was a half-blood, imagine how they would react if they found out he was a werewolf. Especially Lucius Malfoy.

"Lupin, I'm talking to you!"

Speaking of the devil, Lucius looked annoyed.

"You were saying something Malfoy?" Remus asked tentatively.

"I said, I hope you got plenty of sleep on the train, because you won't be getting much tonight," Lucius drawled.

Remus repressed a shudder at the hidden meaning behind Malfoy's words. He stared carefully at the Sorting Hat as the first student walked up to it.

"Did you hear me?" a voice breathed into his ear.

Remus jumped as he realized Malfoy had walked around the table to sit beside him without Remus noticing. The werewolf's heart started to pound. "I heard you," he whispered. _Loud and clear,_ he thought. Perhaps it would be wise to catch some sleep now, while he had a chance...

"Finally!" Sirius Black sighed when the last of the first years took their seat.

Severus Snape smirked. "And wherein lies your relief?" he asked. "In the fact that it is now time to eat, or that we are now free to perform our little show?"

"I want to eat, of course," Sirius declared, though his eyes drifted wickedly toward the Slytherin table.

"Are you guys ready?" James Potter whispered. Peter Pettigrew squirmed in his seat in anticipation.

"I suppose it is too much to ask if we could at least wait until after dinner?" Severus asked. The other boys gave him incredulous looks. Severus sighed and pulled out his wand under the table.

"On three," Sirius whispered as the others followed Severus's example. "One... two..."

But before Sirius could say three, Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"I know you are all eager to begin eating, but I am afraid the Sorting may not be over yet," the Headmaster declared.

The students murmurred in confusion and craned their heads to see who hadn't been Sorted yet.

"What's he mean by 'it may not' be over?" Sirius demanded. "Either it's over or it's not."

"Before term began last year," Dumbledore continued, "there was an incident in my office involving fireworks, Dungbombs, and an exploding cauldron. Our beloved Hat appeared unscathed from that incident, but I am informed it was not. As a result, certain students were placed in the wrong Houses during last year's Sorting. The Hat has given me the names of those students. When Professor McGonagall calls your name, please take the place of this year's first-years."

A babble of voices rose in response at this information while Dumbledore passed a scroll to Professor McGonagall, who looked utterly confused.

"What if my name's on that list?" Peter squeaked in panic. "I bet I was meant to be a Hufflepuff!"

"Imagine a Gryffindor who was really a Slytherin! The shame!" Sirius said dramatically.

"Or a Slytherin who wasn't supposed to be a Slytherin! The torture!" James added.

"A Ravenclaw who should have been in Hufflepuff," Severus smirked.

"What if one of us is on that list?" asked Peter.

"We'll still be friends," James declared. "Don't short-circuit your brain worrying about that, Pete."

"Even if said person ends up in Slytherin?" Severus asked uncertainly.

There was a brief pause as the four Marauders considered this possibility. "None of us was meant to be in Slytherin," Sirius stated. "We would have known it by now."

"Quiet, please," Dumbledore said. He smiled. "There is no need to look so worried. The list is quite short, only five names."

The students quieted down, and Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Will the following students please step forward? Bulstrode, Violetta."

A heavyset girl stood up from the Ravenclaw table and made her way to the front.

"Diggory, Amos!"

A boy from the Hufflepuff table joined Violetta Bulstrode.

"Lovegood, Xenophilius!" Another student at the Ravenclaw table stood up.

"Lupin, Remus!" Everyone waited, but there was no response. "Lupin, Remus!" Professor McGonagall repeated as she looked up from the list and frowned at the Slytherin table. Still no response, though all the Slytherins were smirking at a small boy who appeared to be asleep. One large Slytherin lifted the sleeping boy out of his seat by the collar of his shirt and deposited him on the floor roughly, bringing a startled yelp from the boy.

"Detention, Mr. Mulciber," Said Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Lupin, please come forward."

Remus stumbled to his feet in confusion, blinking sleepily.

"Snape, Severus!"

Severus froze in shock. "It'll be fine," James whispered, giving Severus a slight nudge.

"No matter what happens, you're still a Marauder," Sirius assured him.

Severus stood up. "Even if I'm sent to Slytherin?" he asked.

"You aren't Slytherin material," Sirius declared. "I would know, after all, I'm related to half of them."

After a careful glance at the other Marauders, Severus joined the other four students.

Dumbledore addressed the five students directly. "It appears the Sorting Hat made a mistake in your placement last year," he said. "However, I realize that you may wish to remain in the House you were placed in, as you have likely already made friends there. Whether you stay in your current House or join the House you would have been placed in is entirely your choice. Be warned, this choice can only be made once. If you wish to stay in your current House, you may return to your seats."

Severus wasted no time in racing to the spot between Sirius and James where he had been sitting.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Sirius said brightly. Severus shot him a weak smile and glanced at the front of the room, where two students were still standing.

"Are you positive you wish to change Houses?" asked Professor McGonagall. The two students nodded. "Very well, Miss Bulstrode, sit down and try on the hat."

The girl sat down on the stool and it took but a second for the hat to call out, "Slytherin!"

"Imagine that!" Sirius hissed. "A Slytherin, sullying Ravenclaw's good name! Thank Merlin she wasn't in Gryffindor."

"Hush, I want to know where the Slytherin goes," James said.

"Ex-Slytherin," Severus corrected.

"Don't blame the fellow for wanting to get out of the serpents lair," Sirius commented. "Five Galleons says he goes to Hufflepuff. He can't possibly be anything else."

"Don't be ridiculous," James argued. "He spends an unhealthy amount of time in the library so five Galleons says he goes to Ravenclaw."

"You two disgust me!" red-headed Lily Evan hissed. "Everything is a game to you!"

James nudged Sirius. "Do you see the looks the snakes are giving him?"

Sirius glanced over and indeed the Slytherins were giving Lupin looks of pure disgust. Remus gave the Slytherins a bright smile and a little salute.

"A Gryffindor for sure," Severus said as the Slytherins hissed in anger.

"How much you betting?" asked Sirius.

With a glance at Lily's glowering face, Severus said quickly, "Nothing, of course."

"Mr. Lupin, have a seat," Professor McGonagall commanded.

Remus sat down on the stool, feeling a sense of _déjà vu._He lifted the Sorting Hat and dropped it over his head. "Hello, again, lad," the hat whispered in his ear. "Didn't do so well in Slytherin, did you?" Remus shuddered as an unwanted image of Malfoy's sneering face rose in his mind. "None of that, now," the Hat chided. "It took a lot of nerve going through a whole year in Slytherin, knowing what would happen if they found out either of your secrets. I would have placed you in Ravenclaw with your brains, but I see now you are better suited for GRYFFINDOR!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Remus winced as the hat shouted the last word for all to hear. _Gryffindor? _Remus thought. Surely it was mistaken.

The hat was whipped off his head and Remus blinked at the sudden light. "Go join your House, Mr. Lupin," said Professor McGonagall with a smile.

"You owe me five Galleons, Sirius," James exclaimed triumphantly as Remus stumbled toward the Gryffindor table. "I knew he didn't look like a Hufflepuff."

"I do not owe you anything!" Sirius protested. "You said he would be in Ravenclaw to replace that new Slytherin!"

"Well you both made the bet and you both were wrong, so you each owe _someone_ five Galleons," Severus cut in.

"You would have won if you had joined in the bet," Peter said.

"For your arrogance, you should give it to Remus!" Lily hissed.

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed. "Problem solved!"

"On first name terms with him already, are you?" Sirius said loudly. "At least let the fellow settle in before making a pass, Evans!"

A commotion in between the Slytherin table and the Gryffindor table caught their attention. Remus had gone sprawling on the floor between the two tables. From the glare Lupin shot Lucius Malfoy and from the smirk on the pale blond's face, it was no accident. Suddenly, the smirk was gone and the next thing everyone knew, Lucius was yelling and hopping up out of his seat. Whether it was rage or pain, it was hard to tell, but Mulciber made a dive, which Remus dodged by crawling underneath the Gryffindor table. Mulciber whipped out his wand and aimed it at Remus, but stopped when he heard, "ENOUGH!"

Professor McGonagall was furious. Lucius was hopping from one foot to the other in agony.

"Mr. Mulciber, get back to your seat," McGonagall snapped. "Mr. Lupin, get out from under that table. Mr. Malfoy, what is your problem?"

"My feet," Malfoy whimpered. "They hurt!"

James reached under the table and pulled Remus up and deposited him in the seat between him and Severus.

Professor McGonagall rounded on Remus. "What did you do, Lupin?" she demanded.

"It was self defense, Professor!" Remus exclaimed.

"That is open for debate," said Professor McGonagall. "What I meant was, what spell did you put on Mr. Malfoy?"

"Stinging Hex," Remus said promptly.

Professor McGonagall turned to Malfoy and muttered the counter-spell, but nothing happenned.

"That might not work because I modified it!" Remus said brightly. "If I'd known I would need it so soon, I would have come up with a modified counter-hex."

"You worthless nobody!" Lucius screeched.

"Or not," Remus sighed.

"Detention, Mr. Lupin." Said Professor McGonagall. She took her seat at the teachers table and Dumbledore stood up.

"I'll make this short," he said. "Let the feast begin!"

At once, the table filled with food.

"Remus, you don't have to sit with them," said Lily, shooting the Marauders dirty looks. "You can sit with us."

"He doesn't want to sit with a bunch of girls!" Sirius said disdainfully.

"Well he doesn't want to sit with the Marauders!" Lily snapped.

"Says who?" Sirius countered. He turned to Remus. "Lupin, where do you want to sit?"

Remus glanced over Lily's shoulder where he could see his former dorm-mates shooting him nasty looks.

"I am perfectly happy where I'm at, thank you," he said quietly. " I would rather not sit with my back to the Slytherins."

"What did I tell you?" Sirius said triumphantly. "I'm Sirius Black, by the way. I know everyone knows who I am, but I would rather we were properly introduced."

James stuck out his hand. "James Potter, at your service," he said with a flourish. Then he narrowed his eyes. "You haven't picked up any nasty little Slytherin habits, have you?" he asked.

"Cause if you have, we'll have to flush them out of you," Sirius added threateningly. "You're a Gryffindor now and we can't have you tarnishing our reputation."

"I- I don't think so," Remus stammered nervously. Exactly what did they consider 'Slytherin habits?'

James and Sirius stared at him intently for a long moment. Remus shifted in his seat uncomfortably, feeling like he was on display. Severus and Peter looked on silently, as if they were waiting for something.

"Severus here is a half-blood, and Peter over there is Muggle-born as well as Evans," James said, a challenge in his hazel eyes.

"You wouldn't happen to have a problem with that, would you?" Sirius demanded.

Remus smiled. "Why would I? I'm a half-blood myself," he said brightly.

The tension at the table lightened considerably. "Well, I suppose no one can deny you were meant to be in Gryffindor," Severus spoke up. He smirked."You certainly arrived with a bang."

All five boys shot an amused glance at the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was sitting with a grimace that was different from his usual smooth countenance.

"Don't corrupt him!" Lily hissed.

"Why Evans, what on earth makes you think we'll corrupt him?" James gasped theatricly. "I am shocked and hurt that you have such a low opinion of me!"

Lily glared at him and turned to talk to one of her friends.

"Rather than argue with the girls, don't we have other plans for the moment?" Severus said, gazing pointedly at the Slytherin table.

So Remus had been right. They _were_ up to no good, with the Slytherins as their targets.

"How could we forget?" Sirius exclaimed. "Now the timing is off. It takes at least thirteen minutes for the charm to reach its climax, and it was supposed to be done before the dessert course! That's in nine minutes!"

Remus held back a smile. Really, did they not know there was a simple solution if they were so desperate to perform their little prank now?

"Wow, you even know when dessert arrives," Severus said in amazement. "You really do have a one-track mind, you know that?"

"Shut up, Severus!" Sirius snapped. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a crisis?"

"Why don't we just go ahead with it?" James suggested. "It won't be as spectacular as it would have been, but it's better than nothing."

"Oh, al_right_," Sirius sighed. "Wands out."

"You're lucky you got yourself on the opposite side of this show," Severus said to Remus before muttering under his breath.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the green banners above the Slytherin table slowly began fading. Remus cocked his head, wondering exactly what was supposed to be happening.

"Come _on_!" Sirius grumbled impatiently.

"At this rate everyone will be gone before anything happens!" Peter complained.

"Well, you can blame these two idiots who felt they needed to interrogate Lupin immediately," Severus said, glaring at James and Sirius. "That could have waited until we had arrived in the dorm."

"If you're going to blame someone, Sev, blame Lupin," James snapped. "He did waste a lot of time hexing Malfoy."

Remus scowled."Honestly, don't you know how to Accelerate?" he grumbled, whipping out his wand. Sirius and James immediately pointed their own wands at him. All Remus did was wave his wand in the direction of the Slytherin banner and mutter under his breath. The fading of the banner sped up considerably, but Remus wasn't satisfied. He waved his wand again and this time the green of the banner was gone and it quickly turned pink.

"Wow!" Sirius exclaimed, his eyes wide. He and James put their wands away and watched the Slytherin table expectantly. Other students were now pointing at the Slytherin banner, but the show wasn't over yet. The banner started waving gently as if by a breeze. Soon it was flapping wildly, and particles of something were falling from it. At a more careful look, Remus saw that it was rose petals. The main courses disappeared and were replaced with dessert just as the rose petals started to land. Wherever the pink petals landed, bright pink roses grew in their place- they grew from the table, from the plates, even from the Slytherins' hair.

There was an uproar as everyone realized what was going on. The Slytherins were howling in rage, the Marauders were laughing uncontrollably. Professor McGonagall stormed to the Slytherin table and set everything back to normal with a wave of her wand, but the damage was already done.

She turned to the Gryffindor table in fury. "Detention, all of you! Mr. Lupin you have an extra day of detention!"

"But, Professor, Remus didn't do anything!" Severus spoke up.

James nodded sincerely. "Yes, Professor, we had this all planned out while he was still in Slytherin!" he added.

"Very well. Lupin, you still have detention for what you did to Malfoy. I want to see the five of you and Mulciber in my classroom tomorrow directly after dinner tomorrow."

"Um, thanks," Remus said uncertainly, staring at the other four boys in surprise. No one had ever spoken up for him like that.

"What spell was that?" Sirius demanded.

"Acceleration Charm," Remus mumbled. "My uncle invented it. It speeds up time consuming spells."

"You _have_ to teach us!" James exclaimed. "The things we can do with it!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Remus stared in awe at the Gryffindor common room. It was not quite so dark as the Slytherin common room, and it also looked cozier. Remus was itching to curl up in front of the fire with a nice book, preferably one his mother had sent. As he thought of his parents, he smiled. They would be so pleased he got out of Slytherin. Disappointed, perhaps, that it wasn't Ravenclaw, but it still wasn't Slytherin. Besides, he was almost placed in Ravenclaw, and that was as close as he was going to get. He was a bit relieved that he wasn't placed in Ravenclaw, because then he would have his sister hovering over him constantly. Also, he could now have as much chocolate as he wanted without worrying about what some spiteful Slytherin might have done to it. Oh, yes, he could definitely get used to this. _Provided I get along with my dorm mates, _he thought, casting a quick glance around to search for the Marauders. If he was at odds with the Marauders, life in Gryffindor wouldn't be much better than that in Slytherin.

"Remus!"

Remus turned around. It was Lily. She smiled. "Just wanted to let you know I'm glad you're here," she said softly. "Now we can be friends without hiding it from everyone!"

"That sounds nice," Remus replied, smiling at the thought. Friends. Was that what she called their secret rendesvous all over the castle as she introduced him to various people that caught his interest? Friends. It was a difficult concept to wrap his mind around.

"Oi, Lupin!" This voice came from a different staircase from the one Lily was now climbing. This voice belonged to Sirius. "Come _on! _We're waiting for you! And you've got an owl with a very big package on your bed. She won't let us near her, but whatever it is smells heavenly. Will you share? Pleeease?"

_Share?_ Remus thought. That word didn't even exist in Slytherin. Not in the context Sirius seemed to be using it in.

"Good-night, Remus!" Lily called as Remus followed Sirius up the steps.

Sirius smirked. "Not even a full day in Gryffindor, and you already have yourself a girlfriend!" he said loudly, steering Remus into the dormitory.

"A girlfriend?" James said in interest. "Really?"

"She is not my girlfriend!" Remus said heatedly, feeling his cheeks burning. "We are just fr- ah- acquaintances!"

Severus raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And just who is your girlfriend- I mean, ah, acquaintance?" He asked.

"Evans," Sirius said, scowling in disgust. "The boy has terrible taste. But then, he's spent the past year in Slytherin. What can you expect?"

Remus stiffened at this snub, however slight. Did this mean there would be trouble?

"It was only a year," Peter said reasonably. "There's plenty of time to change."

Sirius brightened. "You're right!" he exclaimed. He threw an arm around Remus's shoulder. "Not to worry. We'll turn you into the most perfect Gryffindor Hogwarts has ever seen!"

Remus recoiled from the sudden contact with the taller boy, amber eyes wide, and he stumbled backward.

"Hey, I wasn't going to hurt you!" Sirius said sincerely.

Remus forced a smile on his face, reminding himself that this wasn't the Slytherin dungeon. He took a deep breath and said quietly, "Wasn't your fault."

There was an awkward silence. Remus was cringing inwardly. It hadn't taken him long to mess up here. Maybe he just wasn't meant to socialize with normal people. After all, he was a werewolf, wasn't he? Most werewolves didn't mingle. But he did want to have friends like normal kids.

The silence was broken by an angry screech. The boys' attention was immediately drawn to the bed at one end of the room, where an owl sat waiting impatiently with a large parcel. The moment Remus cut her loose, she took off through the open window.

"What's in it?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Mum's brownies, by the smell of it," Remus answered, sitting down on the bed and loosening the ribbon that held the package together. His nose was never wrong.

"In a parcel that size?" James exclaimed. " I could fit all my course books in there!"

"She expects it to last me a week or so," Remus explained. "It never does." He opened the box, and a strong whiff of chocolate perfumed the dormitory. Remus raised an eyebrow at the other boys staring at the box in envy. "Well?" he asked. "Isn't anyone going to help me empty this box?"

Sirius was the first to to hop onto Remus's bed and peer into the box. "Holy Merlin!" he exclaimed. "They're as big as a dinner plate!"

This brought the other boys scurrying. "Are you sure about this?" Severus asked uncertainly. "I mean, your mum sent them to you."

Remus nodded. "She sends them once a week," he replied.

"Thank you!" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing what appeared to be the largest brownie in the box and taking a bite.

"You need to spoil your house elf," said James. "These are excellent."

"Our house elf didn't make these," Remus replied. "My mum makes them special for us."

"Us?" Peter questioned.

"My sister and me," Remus clarified.

"Who is your sister?" asked Sirius. "Maybe she'll share too." His eyes darkened. "Unless she's in Slytherin."

"Raina is in Ravenclaw, and she won't look twice your way," said Remus. "She is a fifth year who won't pay the slightest heed to anyone younger than herself."

"I can make her notice me," Sirius declared, a wicked look in his eyes.

"Sirius!" Severus said in exasperation. "Remus is new to our dormitory. You can't go terrorizing his sister yet!"

"Besides," James added, "We don't harrass our dorm-mates' siblings without their express permission."

"Since when was that a rule?" Sirius demanded. "Until now, I was the only one in this room with a sibling, and Regs doesn't even go to Hogwarts until next year!"

"It's called courtesy!" James snapped.

Sirius shrugged and reached for another brownie. "Okay," he said simply.

"Eek!" Peter squeaked, leaping off the bed. "Rats!"

Severus, James, and Sirius backed slowly away from the bed, staring at two tiny creatures sitting up on Remus's pillow.

"They look odd," James whispered. "I've never seen rats with stripes before."

"Look out!" Peter shrieked as the two creatures leaped. But instead of landing on the bed, they _glided_ and landed on Remus's lap.

Remus laughed and scooped up the tiny creatures into his hands and said, "They aren't rats, they're sugar gliders."

"Sugar what?" asked Sirius, venturing closer.

"Sugar gliders," Remus repeated. "Meet Athena and Poseidon."

"You named those tiny things after mighty Greek gods?" asked James incredulously.

"They like their names!" Remus said defensively.

"They are great names," Severus said quickly as one of them hissed at James.

"If you have a cat or an owl, I suggest you keep them away from Athena and Po." Remus added, thinking it was only fair to warn them. "I've put a protective charm on them."

"What kind of charm?" James said in interest.

"Well, if anything tries to eat them, it ends up with a numb tongue,"Remus replied.

"Ohh, I would love to see Filch's kitten try it!" Sirius said, his grey eyes sparkling at the thought.

"Um, I know we're having a good time and all, but we have classes tomorrow," Severus reminded them.

"Yes, and we mustn't be late to breakfast!" Sirius declared.

Peter nodded in agreement and dived into his own bed.

"Thanks for the brownies, Remus," Sirius added after James turned the lights off. "They were a lifesaver."

Remus smiled in the darkness. It felt nice to share, and he couldn't remember a time where he'd had such a full-length conversation with anyone other than Lily. _I like Gryffindor, _he thought, and classes hadn't even begun.


	4. Chapter 4

****This is a fun story to write. I know Severus being a Marauder will take some getting used to, but the Marauders will still have their mortal Slytherin enemy, if I manage to get that far. Thank you so much to those who reviewed, otherwise I probably would have already given up on this story and moved on to something else.****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Remus sleepily opened his eyes and blinked in confusion. The morning light streamed in from somewhere outside the curtains of his bed, curtains which were not green, but red velvet. Then yesterday's events came rushing back and he smiled. Today was going to be a good day.

Remus sat up and swept the hangings around his bed open. Sirius was already awake, but as far as Remus could tell, they were the only ones up.

Sirius grinned. "So you're an early bird too?" he said. "Good. I now have someone to talk to first thing in the morning. It's best not to wake the others for another hour at least. You're rats are barking, by the way."

"Sugar gliders," Remus corrected automatically. "They're hungry. I'll just find them something from the kitchen since it's too early for breakfast."

"The kitchens?" Sirius gasped. "You know where it is? I'll come with you!"

Remus cast an uncertain glance in the direction of their sleeping dorm-mates. Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about them," he said. "They have an alarm clock."

"Kitchen? Did someone say kitchen?" said a sleepy voice.

"Yes, Pete, Remus and I are going to the kitchen to rescue his poor pets from starvation," said Sirius.

Peter shot out of bed. "I'll come with you!" he said eagerly. "I've never been to the kitchen!"

Peter's brain may have been awake, but his body wasn't quite there yet. He tripped over a shoe in the middle of the floor and went flying, landing right on top of Severus. Severus let out a startled yelp.

"Sorry!" Peter apologized.

"What time is it?" Severus mumbled.

"Too early for you," Sirius answered. "Go back to sleep. Remus, Pete and I are heading for the kitchen. We'll wake you when we get back, unless your alarm goes off before we get back."

"Don't be ridiculous," Severus grumbled. "You don't even know where the kitchen is, and it is too early for exploring."

"Pete and I don't know where the kitchen is, but Remus does and he's going to show us," Sirius said. "Now go back to sleep."

Severus sat up. "I'm going with you," he said. "_Someone_ has to keep you out of trouble."

"Shouldn't we wake James?" asked Peter. "He won't like waking up to find us all gone."

"And he will be upset if we go to the kitchen for the first time without him," Severus added.

Sirius shrugged and bounced on James's bed. "Jamie-boy, Remus is taking us to the kitchen. You coming?"

James blinked awake. "Kitchen? Where is the kitchen?" he asked.

During this whole time of waking the rest of the dormitory, Remus had already managed to get dressed and gather up the two sugar gliders.

"Um, don't you think this is a little over-the-top?" he asked uncomfortably. "I mean, I'm only going there to feed Athena and Po."

"I've never seen a sugar glider eat," Sirius declared.

"You never even saw an actual sugar glider until last night," Severus retorted. "In fact, you had never even heard of them!"

"Well, I think it will be an educational experience for all of us," Sirius argued.

"As well as a chance to find out how to get into the kitchen so it won't matter whether or not you miss dinner?" Severus said with a knowing smile.

"An excellent idea!" Sirius exclaimed. "Sev, I like your way of thinking. That is why you are a Marauder."

"What, because I know how your mind works?" Severus rolled his eyes.

"Knock it off, you two," James grumbled. "Are we ready to go?"

Remus stared in bewilderment at the odd sight that was James Potter.

"We're ready, but I'm afraid you are not," Sirius informed him as Peter giggled. "Your robe is on backward, your socks are mismatched, your shoes are on the wrong feet, and your hair is standing on end."

"Wearing glasses helps," Severus said, pushing James' glasses into his hands. He smiled at the look on Remus' face. "Don't let him scare you. That is James's usual morning look."

"He'd have no respect in this school if we didn't help him," Sirius added. He cocked his head. "Although your hair doesn't look much better."

Remus self-consciously ran a hand through his hair, which he knew was far from neat. His hair fell in short sandy waves that turned wild at the slightest breeze. "Combed it once already," he said. "This is as good as it gets."

"You better run," came James's muffled voice from under the bed.

"Run?" Remus repeated in confusion. Did it always take this long for them to get ready in the mornings? No wonder they were always late. He hated to think what would happen if Sirius were to oversleep. They probably wouldn't even make it to class.

Remus let out a yelp as his hair was yanked on mercilessly. He jumped away, Athena and Poseidon yipping nervously. He dodged as Sirius made another attempt to attack his hair with a comb.

"You're scaring them!" Remus said indignantly as the sugar gliders leaped out of his arms and scampered out of sight.

"You're scaring _me_ with that hair," Sirius retorted. He grunted as Remus sidestepped his next attempt to grab him.

"My hair is fine, and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Remus snapped.

"I refuse to be seen in public with you looking like that," Sirius remarked. "Come on, it won't take long."

"Then you don't _have_ to show your face in my company," Remus grumbled, ducking as Sirius dived at him. At that moment Remus spotted his two pets near the door. "Leave it alone, I mean it!"

"Might as well give in," James said as he crawled out from under his bed, having finally found a pair of matching socks. "He'll keep at it until you do."

"He won't if he knows what's good for him," Remus scowled, shoving Sirius away from him.

"Sev, I could use some help," Sirius said repraochfully as he climbed to his feet.

"I don't know," Severus said doubtfully as he watched Remus's amber eyes turn a shade darker.

Remus was getting annoyed. They barely knew each other; Sirius had no right to be coming after him with a weapon like a comb. Besides, he liked his hair the way it was. Sirius lunged again. Out of a fit of temper, Remus whipped out his wand and snapped, _"Torqueo!" _

Sirius froze, glancing around the messy room cautiously, but nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary. Peter giggled. "What?" Sirius asked, wondering what he was missing. He caught a glimpse at Severus's smirk._"What?"_ James burst into laughter. "WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Sirius yelled.

"I suggest you worry about your own hair," Remus said, scooping up his miniature pets and storming out of the dormitory.

"Nice one, Sirius, I was looking forward to finding out where the kitchens were," James grumbled.

"Relax, we have all year to do that," Severus drawled, still unable to hide his amusement at what Remus had done to Sirius.

"What was with the snide comment about my hair?" Sirius scowled. "My hair is perfect and _tame._"

"Why don't you go to the bathroom and give it an extra brush?" James suggested with a grin.

Sirius's eyes widened and he tore off to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Then he let out an indignant screech. His hair, his beautiful, shiny, _straight_ black hair was ruined. Now it was a huge untidy mess of HUGE curls on top of his head.

He ran back to his dormitory. "FIX IT!" he screeched. "FIX IT NOW!"

"Relax," Severus said with little concern for Sirius's plight. "It looks like a simple Curling Charm. Girls use it all the time."

"GIRLS?"

"Will you quit shouting? You'll wake all of Gryffindor," said James as he straightened out his robe.

"How do you fix it?" Sirius asked, panic-stricken. "I can't go into the Great Hall looking like this!"

"Simple, if you would just pay attention in class," Severus said, lazily drawing his wand. _"Finite Incantatem!"_

"Thank you, Sev, thank you!" Sirius said in relief. "What's wrong?"

Severus was frowning at Sirius, and James and Peter had crowded around Sirius in curiosity. Severus raised his wand again. _"Finite Incantatem!"_ he repeated. _"FINITE INCANTATEM!"_

"NOOOO!" Sirius wailed.

"Let me try," said James. "I am much better at these kinds of things."

Severus raised a dark eyebrow. "Be my guest," he said, stepping back.

_"Finite Incantatem!" _James said confidently. His brow furrowed. "Are you sure it's a Curling Charm?"

"One of the girls might be able to help," Peter suggested.

"I AM NOT ASKING A GIRL FOR HELP!" Sirius yelled indignantly.

"You might not have a choice," James reasoned. His eyes lit up. "I know! I'll ask for you." Before Sirius could protest, James was already out the door. Ten minutes later James returned with not one but _three_ girls- Lily Evans, Mary Macdonald, and Alice Prewett. At the sight of Sirius, they immediately burst into giggles.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"It's a Curling Charm," Mary finally said. "I use it occasionally."

"That's nice, HOW DO YOU REMOVE IT?"

"We tried Finite Incantatem, but-"

Mary interrupted James, "That's not going to work on a Curling Charm." With a smile, she raised her wand. _"Utvoserant!"_

"Thank you!" Sirius said gratefully.

"Save your gratitude for when someone actually fixes your hair," Severus said drily.

"What?" Sirius yelped. "But she's a girl! Girls are supposed to know the counter-charm!"

"Why were you trying to curl your hair?" Alice asked curiously. "I was under the impression that you believed you had the most perfect hair at Hogwarts."

"My hair is perfect!" Sirius insisted. "Why would I want to curl it? Lupin did this to me. Little snake," he added under his breath.

"If Remus did it, then I doubt anyone can remove it except him," Lily said with a giggle. "It looks like he altered this charm so it can't be removed the normal way."

With a snarl, Sirius shoved the girls out the door. "I'll kill him! I swear I will!"

"Perhaps you should do that _after _he removes the spell?" Severus suggested.

"What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Sirius snapped.

"Well until then..." said James. He grabbed a wizard hat and jammed it on Sirius's head. "There. That looks better. Now come on."

Sirius hesitated.

"You don't want to miss breakfast, do you?" asked Severus in amusement.

"Of course not," Sirius scoffed. "Let's eat, and hunt down that little snake while we're at it..."

* * *

><p><strong>Little Remy is in trouble! Just how mad <em>is<em> Sirius?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Remus waited until breakfast was well underway before arriving at the Great Hall. He would have liked to avoid it altogether, but the Heads of Houses usually handed out school schedules at this time and he couldn't miss that. Fortunately, Sirius was busy complaining very loudly to anyone who would listen about "that miniature Slytherin" that he had to share a dorm with and the despicable thing that had been done to him early this morning. Strangely enough, when asked what "the little Slytherin" had done to him, Sirius would clam up and jam his hat even more tightly on his head, making it clear it had something to do with his hair. However, he made it clear that it was something horrible.

Remus filled his plate with chocolate eclairs, thinking that Sirius was the most melodramatic boy he had ever met. He didn't think it was that bad. Severus glanced in his direction and Remus froze. Couldn't he at least have a decent breakfast before dealing with them? But Severus merely turned back toward Sirius without even acknowledging Remus's presence.

Remus finished his breakfast in no time and he stood up to leave. Just as he was about to head out the door, a hand closed on his shoulder and he tensed immediately. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with his sister, Raina. His eyes narrowed. What on earth could she want?

She smiled uneasily. "I just wanted to say congratulations," she said softly.

"Thanks," Remus said.

"And I'm sorry."

Startled, Remus gazed at her in confusion. "Sorry?" he echoed when she didn't elaborate.

Her grey eyes filled with tears and she struggled to get herself back under control before speaking. "I shouldn't have ignored you just because you were sorted into Slytherin. It was obvious you weren't doing well there, and-"

"Rainy, it's okay, you don't have to-"

"IT'S NOT OKAY!"

Her outburst had drawn attention from several students, including- to Remus's horror- the Marauders. Raina lowered her voice again, and Remus ignored his surroundings so he could focus on her. "I saw how the Slytherins were treating you, and I did nothing about it," she cast a glare in the direction of the Slytherin table. She face her brother with an intense look in her eyes. "It won't happen again, I promise you!" She then turned to narrow her eyes at the Marauders. "If they give you any problems-"

"Rainy, I can take care of myself!" Remus protested.

"Remy, I'm your big sister, and I'm supposed to protect you!" Raina snapped, her voice raised in agitation. "If they give you any problems, I'll make them wish they'd never laid eyes on you. If you need anything, anything at all, you know how to reach me." She flipped her long sandy curls over her shoulder and stalked over to the Ravenclaw table.

Remus grinned happily. He would try to straighten out the mess with Sirius- no pun intended- and if he couldn't then at least he wasn't alone anymore. He turned once more to leave but someone grabbed him by the back of the robes and pulled him back. "Your schedule, ," Professor McGonagall said sternly. Remus took it from her and seconds later he finally made it out of the Great Hall. He glanced down at the schedule. Charms, first thing this morning.

Remus paused just inside the Charms classroom. Half of the class was already there. It was very strange seeing students in a classroom sporting the Gryffindor colors. Stranger still was the thought that he was now one of them. Except he was still dressed in Slytherin colors. Glancing down at his robes, Remus felt very out-of-place.

"Remus, over here!"

Remus smiled and made his way to the red-head waving madly at him.

"We saw what you did to Black," Lily giggled the moment he sat down. "What did he do?"

"He attacked me," Remus answered simply.

"Why would he attack you?" Lily asked with a frown. "He seemed to like you well enough yesterday after you were re-Sorted."

"Don't ask me," Remus shrugged. "He just came at me with a dangerous weapon."

"Dangerous weapon?" Alice asked. "What kind of weapon?"

"A comb," Remus replied, sending the girls into fits of giggles. "It just so happens to be a very vicious object!" he added defensively, and they laughed even harder.

"Oy, Lupin." Suddenly, Sirius was sitting on Remus's other side. "Fix it, and I'll let it slide this time."

"As soon as I find the counter-charm," Remus muttered. Lily pulled him toward her and whispered in his ear. He nodded at her words.

"Can you do it now?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "I really should make you wait," he said. "That would be the Slytherin thing to do, wouldn't it?"

"You're not a Slytherin anymore," Sirius snapped, then reddened as he realized he had just contradicted what he had told his classmates at breakfast. "You may act like a Slytherin and dress like a Slytherin, but that will have to change. Gryffindors always help each other out."

Remus sighed and flicked his wand in Sirius's direction. Sirius raised his hand cautiously to his head. "Does it look normal?" he asked the other boys, glaring at Remus suspiciously.

"We might be able to tell if you would take off the hat, you dolt," James said.

"This better be right!" Sirius hissed at Remus. "Remember, I know where you sleep!"

"How perceptive of you," Remus retorted. Maybe it was the tempering from Slytherin, but Remus was not about to let Sirius walk all over him.

Sirius reached up and slid the hat off his head. "Well?" he demanded.

"Looks in order to me," James grinned.

Sirius stood up. "I'm checking for myself," he snapped, stalking out of the classroom. He returned moments later, apparently satisfied. He smiled brightly at Remus. "All's forgiven." His smile faded. "So long as it doesn't happen again."

James leaned over. "Hey Remus, can you teach me that trick? I need it for next time Sirius ambushes _my_ hair. Siri, it was a joke! _A joke! _Sev, help!"

Professor Flitwick walked in at that moment. "Settle down, boys," he admonished. "Today, we are doing Cheering Charms. And Mr. Lupin, please do not alter the charm until after the other students have gotten a hang of it."

Remus scowled. "Spoilsport," he grumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow, my longest chapter ever! Just goes to show how inexperienced I am at fanfiction.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Remus did not appreciate being singled out. Nor did he like the teachers watching him constantly. So maybe he did get into quite a bit of trouble last year because of what the teachers dubbed the Slytherin Dorm Wars, but that wasn't solely his fault. So what if he liked to alter the many spells he learned as soon as he memorized the incantation? His mother said it was just a phase he was going through. It would pass soon enough.

Charms was a long, slow lesson, solely because Remus knew Cheering Charms already, having amused himself by altering the charm to include every living being in a specific area. Last year he had cast it on the entire Slytherin House. It was quite a sight seeing the formal and serious Slytherins unable to stop laughing. Perfectly harmless in Remus's opinion, but the Slytherins did not think so.

Transfiguration seemed promising. The Gryffindors were taking the class with the Slytherins. It might have gone all right had McGonagall not singled Remus out in class in a much more severe manner than Flitwick. In fact, it may even have been a harmless class, were it not for the Slytherins.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand and solid blocks of wood appeared on each student's desk. "Today you are turning this wood into books," she said. "I don't expect all of you to get it right immediately, but I want you to be able to produce an adequate book by the end of the week. The incantation is in your book. You may begin."

Remus flipped his book open to the right page, just as McGonagall called out, "Lupin, do not alter the spell or mix it with another spell or you will find yourself in detention."

"Very popular with the teachers, aren't you?" Severus drawled.

"Discrimination," Remus retorted. He studied the spell for a moment before raising his wand.

"Hey, Loopy!"

Remus clenched his jaw and glared at his former dorm-mates. _Don't start, please don't start here. Not in front of McGonagall!_

"How'd you sleep?" Mulciber smirked.

Remus blinked in confusion. He had expected something nasty to come from Mulciber. Was he dreaming? Perhaps he should ignore them for once.

Suddenly Mulciber grabbed Remus by the collar of his robe and pulled him closer. "I asked you a question, you filthy little half-blood! Answer me!"

There was a loud bang, and Mulciber fell backward out of his chair.

"Lay another hand on him and I'll do more than that!" James said fiercely.

"We were having a friendly chat, Gryffindor, in case you didn't notice," Mulciber snapped.

"Didn't look that way to me," Sirius said challengingly.

"Is there a problem, boys?" Professor McGonagall called out.

"Just a mild disagreement, Professor, we have it worked out," Mulciber replied.

"Then get back to your work," said Professor McGonagall. "I still see wood."

There was silence as the boys turned back to their work. Then, "Wasn't too dark for you was it, Loony?" This came from a thinner boy, Macnair.

_Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them,_ he chanted silently in his mind. He waved his wand and stared at his desk in dismay. Instead of anything that looked even remotely like a book, Remus's desk was now covered in bits of shredded wood.

The Slytherin boys snickered. Severus knocked Sirius's arm back as the other boy made to hex the Slytherins. Severus waved his own wand at Remus's desk, returning the block of wood to its original state.

"Thanks," Remus said quietly.

But the Slytherins weren't finished. They seemed frustrated at not getting a reaction out of Remus. This time, the Russian, Dolohov, leaned forward. "Was our poor little pixie scared and alone? We all know how you are at night."

"Ah, but Antonin, his dear new room-mates don't know a thing." Remus stared at Mulciber, his heart racing. He wasn't about to blurt it out in front of everyone, was he? Remus would never live it down. The Marauders would tease him mercilessly.

"Well, I think its only fair that they do know," Macnair spoke up, grinning wickedly. "That way they can help him."

They were going to tell the whole of Gryffindor! Remus stared at the block of wood on his desk and a smile crossed his face. His raised his wand, and spoke the proper incantation. Suddenly the object on his desk came alive and shot off of Remus's desk- right in the Slytherins' direction!

With a screech, Mulciber leaped to his feet just as its jaws clamped on his arm. With a scream, he flung it off, and it sailed toward Dolohov. Dolohov ducked and it landed on top of Macnair, clamping on a mouthful of hair. Mulciber tugged and ripped it off of Macnair and flung it in Remus's direction. Sirius cast a Shield Charm in front of Remus and the thing bounced off the shield and flew back toward Mulciber. Suddenly it froze and fell to the ground.

"Who did this?" McGonagall said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"It was Lupin!" Mulciber said immediately.

"Lupin, is this true?" the professor asked.

"I did exactly what you told us to do!" Remus said with a bright smile. "It was a sticky start, but I finally got the spell right, and I didn't alter it or anything."

"I don't recall this being in my instructions to the class," McGonagall snapped.

"You said to turn the wood into a book," Remus insisted. "The Monster Book of Monsters may not be an ordinary book, but it is still a book. It just so happens to be one of my favorites."

At a closer look, the class was able to see that the thing was not a vicious beast, but was instead only a very vicious book. Professor McGonagall closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes and said simply, "Class dismissed. Lupin, stay where you are. I want to have a word with you."

Professor McGonagall waited until the sounds of departing students faded away before speaking. " I was not surprised to see your name come up in the list of mistaken Sortings yesterday," she said. Remus raised an eyebrow. What was she getting at? " I was surprised, however, to see you re-Sorted into Gryffindor. I expected it to be Ravenclaw, because you and your sister are very much alike."

"We're obviously not that much alike," Remus retorted, wishing she would get to the point.

"Professor Slughorn may have tolerated your shenanigans, but I will not be so lenient," McGonagall said sternly. "I will not allow you to bring the Dorm Wars to Gryffindor-"

"I didn't start the Dorm Wars!" Remus protested. "And as long as I get along with my new room-mates, this should be a relatively calm year." Or as calm as things could get at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Your behavior last year was abominable. You lost over a hundred points for Slytherin by yourself. I am your Head of House now and I will not tolerate such behavior."

Remus had nothing to say to that, as it was true. His constant fights with Mulciber, Macnair, and Dolohov damaged his reputation horribly. He personally thought he did quite well, considering the majority of Slytherin House despised him and yet he was still alive. That was a feat he was quite proud of.

"Full moon is coming up this weekend." Remus blinked, startled at the abruptness with which she had changed the subject.

" I know that," he scowled. Honestly, didn't she think he of all people would be aware of the moon's current phase?

"What did you tell your dorm-mates about your disappearances last year?" she asked.

Was she worried about how many people knew about his problem? "I didn't tell them anything," he responded.

"They didn't wonder where you were?" McGonagall asked in surprise.

"They asked the first time it happened," said Remus. "I told them I was in the Hospital Wing. They never asked again. I guess they just assumed that's where I was if I wasn't there. It wouldn't have been difficult to believe considering my reputation in Slytherin."

"Your former Housemates may not have cared where you were," McGonagall said her eyes darkening in disapproval, "but I am more familiar with your new dorm-mates than you are, and I can tell you right now that curiosity is one of their worst faults. They will not be satisfied with a brief explanation about you being in the Hospital Wing. They will want to know why you were there and how it happened. They will notice every little detail, so I suggest you come up with more effective excuses."

Remus hadn't thought of that. When Dumbledore had offered him the chance to be re-Sorted, Remus had jumped at the chance, thinking anything was better than Slytherin. He hadn't actually had a chance to think about the consequences of being re-Sorted. So far, he had only been able to think about the upside of the situation. He would have fewer encounters with bad-tempered Slytherins, for instance. He could get a decent night's sleep for once, although he was too high-strung last night to take advantage of that. He could wake up on his own time now, and not because of being hit with a nasty hex.

Apparently there was a downside to leaving Slytherin, a fact he would never have believed a few days ago. Now he would have to deal with nosy room-mates. Now he would have to come up with creative excuses every month. Now there was a higher risk of being found out.

Remus stared the teacher in the eye. "I understand," he said with a sudden burst of determination. He could do this! He was in Gryffindor now. If the Gryffindors discovered this particular secret of his, they might report it to the Ministry, but at least they wouldn't try to kill him as the Slytherins were likely to do. The thought of what Malfoy might do if he found out still scared Remus.

"Run along, then," said Professor McGonagall. "It's nearly lunchtime."

Remus suddenly realized he was ravenous. Those chocolate eclairs seemed like ages ago. He sprinted the whole way to the Great Hall.

"Remus Lupin?"

A pair of red-haired fifth year twins fell in step with Remus as he made his way to Gryffindor table. "That's me," Remus said tentatively.

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett," one twin grinned.

"Excuse me?" Remus asked in confusion.

"That's us," the other twin said brightly. "I'm Fabian and he's Gideon."

"Nice to meet you," Remus said uncertainly. What on earth could a pair of fifth years want with him?

"We heard what happened in your Transfiguration class," said one twin.

"You have?" Remus said in astonishment. "I only just got out of that class."

"Good news travels fast," the second twin shrugged. "You have the makings of a true Gryffindor, no matter where you spent this past year."

"Er, thanks?" Remus said uncertainly. He wished everyone would quit reminding him of that. He was hoping to forget he was ever in Slytherin.

Remus sat down at Gryffindor Table, and the twins took a seat on either side of him.

"Remus!" James said brightly from across the table. "What did Minnie say to you? Did she pin another detention on you?"

"I got a lecture," Remus shrugged. "Technically, I _was_ following her instructions, and she can't give me detention for a spell gone wild."

"The teachers are terrified, you know," Gideon commented. "They reckon McGonagall has her hands full for the next six years."

"Why's that?" Sirius asked, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of scared teachers.

Gideon glanced at his twin. "I don't know, bro,_ should_ we give them the fuel to cause complete and utter chaos?"

Fabian grinned. "Seeing how we won't have much time to do so ourselves this year what with O.W.L.s, I think we should."

"Tell us, tell us!" Sirius bounced in his seat in anticipation.

"We were listening in on the staff during breakfast-" said Gideon.

"-special recoinassance spell, our own invention-" Fabian added.

"- and Flitwick told Sprout that he hoped Lupin wasn't going to bring the Dorm Wars to Gryffindor," Gideon finished.

"I don't have any real problems with my new dorm-mates, so they needn't worry," Remus mumbled.

"Well, Sprout replied that either Lupin would bring the Dorm Wars to Gryffindor, or he was destined to become the new Marauder, which was possibly worse," Fabian added.

"Worse?" Peter said fearfully.

"Worse for the teachers," Gideon clarified with a grin.

"Worse how?" asked James, shooting Remus a curious look.

"We don't know, exactly," Fabian admitted. "Slughorn only said Lupin's strange hobbies would only make the Marauders' shenanigans worse. Any idea what they were talking about, Remus?"

"Well, the teachers can rest easy, because Remus isn't going to be a Marauder," Lily spoke up haughtily. "I won't let them drag him down with them."

"I don't think that's your choice, Evans!" Sirius said, a challenge in his voice.

"Remus is starting out fresh! He doesn't need you corrupting him," Lily snapped.

"Yeah? Well he's our room-mate. We get to spend more time with him, so therefore, we will have a better influence on him," James cut in.

Remus was mortified. Were they seriously fighting over him? How did he go from being the most despised Slytherin to a sought-after Gryffindor?

"Well I've been his friend longer," Lily countered. "Therefore, I will have a better influence on him!"

"You were friends with a Slytherin?" Sirius asked in shock.

"Technically, he was a Gryffindor all along, the Sorting Hat just made a mistake," Lily retorted.

"Whoa, children, settle down!" Fabian cut in. Lily, James, and Sirius glared at him. Clearly, they did not appreciate being called children. They were twelve years old, after all!

Gideon turned to Remus. "We wanted to apologize to you," he said.

Remus blinked in bewilderment. He didn't even know these boys. What on earth could they have done to warrant an apology?

"The Sorting Hat's confusion was our fault," Fabian explained. "We sent Professor Dumbledore a little gift over the summer holiday before you lot were Sorted-"

"-it was supposed to be perfectly harmless-" Gideon cut in.

"-a few Dungbombs and some fireworks packed inside an Exploding Cauldron, set to go off only when Dumbledore himself opened it-"

"- so its our fault you were stuck in the snake-pit-"

"Anyway, we're sorry," the twins finished in unison.

The Gryffindor second-years stared at the twins in shock, not quite knowing what to say. Remus sifted through his mind for something to break the silence. It was Lily who broke the silence.

"That's horrible! What if the Sorting Hat was permanently damaged? It's an antique!"she exclaimed.

"That's not important," Sirius said darkly. "Lupin had to spend a full year in a House he didn't belong in because of a pair of idiots?"

"It's irrelevant now," Remus cut in before another argument could break out. "What's done is done, and there is no changing it now."

Severus was silent. He couldn't be angry with the Prewett twins. After all, if it wasn't for them, he would never have met James and Sirius and Peter. He couldn't help wondering what his life would have been like if the Sorting Hat hadn't made its mistake. Remus would perhaps have taken Severus's place as James and Sirius's friend. Perhaps none of them would have taken much notice of Severus. But the one question burning in Severus's mind was where was he meant to have been Sorted?

* * *

><p><strong>Severus is such a good bad guy that it took a lot away from the story when I stuck him in Gryffindor. So, to compensate, I replaced his Slytherin self with not one but three nemesis for the Marauders to deal with. Meanwhile, both Severus and Remus have their own internal problems to deal with. Remus just wants to get past the fact that he was in Slytherin for a while, but no one will let him forget. Severus thinks he doesn't belong in Gryffindor, and The Question won't leave him in peace: what House was he supposed to be Sorted in?<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

"No, Sirius, they'll immediately know it was us!"

"That's the point, isn't it? Besides, they won't be able to prove it was us."

Severus groaned from behind the book he was reading. Two dark heads swiveled in his direction. "We need your help, Sev," Sirius said irritably.

"What now?" Severus grumbled, knowing that it couldn't be anything good.

"Well, no Slytherin gets away with torturing a fellow Gryffindor in front of us," said James.

"We're going to teach Mulciber, Dolohov, and Macnair a little lesson for what they did in Transfiguration," Sirius added.

"Torture?" Severus repeated. "It looked more like petty insults to me."

"Well, we can't let them get away with it," Sirius decided. "We need ideas."

"Don't you think that fiasco with the _Monster Book of Monsters_ was punishment enough?" Severus asked.

The boys were silent for a moment. "That was only Lupin doing his part in teaching them a lesson," Sirius said at last, and James grinned . "Now it's our turn."

"So it's the responsibility of everyone in this dorm to- ah- correct the Slytherins for every transgression against Gryffindors?" Severus asked in disbelief.

"Something like that, yeah," James replied. "If you help us come up with an idea, we'll consider your part fulfilled."

Severus sighed and shut his book. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled. "It wasn't even us they were bothering."

"It was our fellow dorm-mate!" Sirius said defensively. "Peter, get over here! You're not getting out of this."

Peter frowned. "This isn't going to get us another detention, is it?" he asked. "We already have detention tonight."

"Almost forgot about that," James admitted. "Remind me about it again at dinner, I'll probably forget again."

"Can we get on with this?" Severus asked irritably. "There are better things I can be doing."

"You're supposed to be coming up with an idea," Sirius said reproachfully.

Severus sat down on the couch next to Sirius and thought for a moment. "I have it," he said after five minutes of silence had passed.

* * *

><p>Remus glared scathingly at the book that sat just out of his reach on an upper shelf in the library. Madam Pince was an evil woman, he decided. She must have done this on purpose, knowing he couldn't reach that book. Or maybe McGonagall put her up to it, knowing exactly what he would do with a book like that. The book could be located at such a height for a reason that had nothing to do with him, but Remus was in no mood to even consider that possibility. He hated being short.<p>

He slipped his hand in his pocket, fingering his wand. Just one spell, and he could get it down. However, due to the No Magic Allowed In The Library rule, an alarm would go off the instant an incantation was uttered. Remus narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Would the alarm go off if any magic was detected or was it only triggered by verbal spells? Remus shook his head. The question was irrelevant since he was currently unable to cast nonverbal spell. However, he would be sure to test his idea as soon as he had learned nonverbal spells. Now, where would he find a book on nonverbal spells?

Remus stared at the object of his original quest. Nonverbals could wait. He was desperate to get his hands on that book. He curled his fingers around the handle of his wand. Was it worth getting a detention over? He shook his head. They might not let him have the book as part of the punishment. Remus put a foot on one of the bottom shelves and gripped a higher shelf he was able to reach.

"Mr. Lupin, perhaps you could ask for help before you go about destroying my library?"

Remus let go of the shelf guiltily and turned around to face a disapproving Madam Pince. "You could at least have a ladder in this place," he scowled.

"I don't need a ladder," Madam Pince said sternly. "What did you want?"

_"Spell Altering for the Ambitious,"_ Remus said, grinning as she paled slightly. "For some light reading."

"D-don't you think that's a bit advanced for you?" Madam Pince asked faintly.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me I'm stupid?" he demanded.

"No, no, of course not," Madam Pince was quick to assure him.

Remus waited while she reach up and pulled the requested book from the shelf, then he asked, "Now, where can I find a book on the basics of non-verbal spells?" The librarian's eyes widened, and he added with a smirk, "Well, I thought I might want a break from altering later."

"What about a nice book on potions?" Madam Pince suggested. "Or transfiguration! There's some good ones on that subject."

"Maybe next time," Remus said. He smiled innocently. "I would like to learn about non-verbals. I read a reference to them recently, and my curiosity has been aroused."

"This way," Madam Pince said with a sigh of resignation.

Remus was a very happy boy when he left the library ten minutes later. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the teachers' reaction if they found out what he was up to now. And their horror when they realized he had now decided to progress to altering spells non-verbally!

Remus cracked open the book on non-verbal spells and scanned the first page as he walked down the hallway. Without meaning to, he found himself immediately immersed in the book. Reading and walking at the same time is not a good idea, a fact Remus forgot quite often- a fact Remus suddenly remembered when his ran straight into a solid object. Suddenly, he found himself on the ground surrounded by books and papers that he knew weren't his.

"Do watch where you're going, Mr. Lupin!"

Remus reddened as Professor McGonagall knelt down to retrieve what was hers. "Sorry, Professor," he muttered as he helped her pick up her papers.

Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the titles of the books she handed to Remus before they both stood up. "Don't forget you and your dorm-mates have detention directly after dinner," she said.

* * *

><p>Dinner did not arrive quickly enough for anyone, it seemed. Remus was starved. He barely even had lunch what with the distaractions. And he was soon to find that dinner would be yet another distraction.<p>

James, Sirius, Severus, and Peter had already arrived. They were gazing intently at the Slytherin table. Remus wondered if their eyes were magnetically attracted to that particular table. A glance in that direction reveal that nothing unusual was happening, so Remus sat down at a random seat at Gryffindor table. Remus picked up a large golden apple from a nearby bowl of fruit. He pointed his wand at it, and a quick spell peeled and diced the apples neatly for him. He scooped up the apple pieces and dumped them in a pile on the bench beside him.

"Eek! Mice!" Alice squealed, jumping back as she attempted to sit down beside him.

"They aren't mice," Remus scowled. "Mice are rodents. Sugar gliders are marsupials."

"Marsupials?" Lily said in interest, kneeling down for a closer look. "Like kangaroos?"

"A little bit," Remus replied.

Alice sat tentatively next to the small critters that were making short work of the cut up apple. "They don't bite?" she asked.

"Not unless you annoy me," Remus said.

"I think they're cute," Lily declared as one of them hopped nimbly into her hand.

"BLACK! POTTER!"

"Now what'd they do?" Lily groaned as she stood up.

McGonagall was talking to James and Sirius, gesturing wildly at the Slytherin table. Remus stared at each Slytherin in turn, trying to figure out what they had done.

"The three Slytherin boys," Mary spoke up suddenly. "The ones in our year."

Remus cocked his head, still not seeing what was wrong.

"Oh! Their plates!" Alice giggled suddenly.

Mulciber, Macnair, and Dolohov were stabbing angrily at their plates with their forks. Their plates were filled with food, but every time their forks came near their plates, the food would simply vanish. McGonagall tried several spells, but to no avail. Finally, she Vanished their plates entirely and conjured new plates for the three.

"Not bad," Remus shrugged, turning his attention to his own plate.

"You mean you actually approve?" Lily said in shock.

"Not really," Remus said. "I think it's rather childish and unoriginal, and horrifically outdated."

"Think you can do better?" James demanded with a glare.

"I _know _I can do better," Remus shot back.

"Then give it your best shot," Sirius challenged.

"We're trying to eat, if you don't mind," Lily snapped, but the boys ignored her.

"Are you volunteering as my target?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you had any brains in you, you would know the only acceptable targets are over there," Sirius retorted, pointing at the Slytherin table.

Remus piled a mountain of food on his plate

"Well?" James demanded impatiently.

"Now?" Remus asked.

"No, when we graduate," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Now, or we shall declare you unfit for Gryffindor."

"Stop it, all of you!" Lily hissed.

"Stay out of it, Evans!" Sirius snapped.

Remus flicked his wand under the table at the Slytherin table. In an instant, all the Slytherins fell ungracefully to the ground, their chairs having vanished into midair.

"Ours was better," Sirius huffed.

"You're biased," said Remus.

"We need a second opinion," James decided. "Oi, you two!"

Two red heads turned in their direction. "Hey, Potter," Gideon greeted.

Severus cut in. "We need an outside opinion," he said."We wish to know which prank you liked better, being expert pranksters yourselves."

Gideon grinned and whispered to his twin. The two looked up and Fabian said, "The chairs, definitely the vanishing chairs!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know I'm getting sloppy, I'm trying to work my way to the main plot of this story, but I promise the silliness will be done with as soon as the boys grow up a little bit. For now, boys will be boys. Thank you for the reviews! They propel me forward! **


	8. Chapter 8

The four Marauders arrived in Professor McGonagall's classroom to find that Remus and Mulciber were already there. The two were on opposite sides of the classroom glaring daggers at each other.

"You four sit between Mulciber and Lupin," said Professor McGonagall. "Hopefully that will keep the two of them from fighting."

They sat in the indicated seats and stared uncomprehending at the books on their desks. "Open the books to the first page," McGonagall directed. "I want you to copy the first two chapters word for word. Perhaps it will sink into your stubborn little heads."

Sirius smirked at the title. "_Dinner Etiquette for the Young Wizard?"_

"I resent this title," said James. "Wizards aren't the only people who need to know this stuff. What about witches? Shouldn't they know etty- etty-"

"Etiquette!" snapped McGonagall. "I will return in three hours. If you are not finished when I return, you will be in detention until you have copied the entire book!"

"Yes sir!I mean, ma'am!" Sirius saluted. At McGonagall's glare he quickly picked up his quill. "Writing now."

For about two minutes after she left the room, the only sound was the scratching of quills.

"So, Lupe, I see you're having no trouble fitting in Gryffindor," Mulciber drawled. "After all, you are right in your element."

"Ignore him," Severus muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Remus, not even pausing in his writing.

Remus clenched his jaw and turned the page.

"I mean, the House is infested with Mudbloods and blood-traitors, so you should feel right at home," Mulciber continued.

"I'd hold my tongue if I were you, seeing how you're outnumbered here," James said loudly, yanking Sirius back into his chair as the latter rose angrily from his seat.

There was more silence for about ten minutes. Remus's hand was flying back and forth across the page, trying desperately to ignore the fact that one of his worst enemies was across the room. James was glancing from the book to his parchment to Sirius in turn, his hand never stopping with his copying, but constantly alert in case he needed to restrain Sirius. Sirius was gripping his hand so tightly around the quill that it was a wonder it didn't break under the pressure. Severus was writing as rapidly as possible without blotting the entire page, afraid that their progress could be deterred at any moment and he wanted to get as much done as possible before any potential fights erupted. Peter was oblivious to the tension in the room now that it had fallen silent, but he did look up when Mulciber spoke again.

"You never did answer my question in Transfiguration," the Slytherin said smoothly. "I cannot help but be concerned. After all, I know how difficult it is for you to sleep at night."

SNAP! Remus's quill snapped, and he glared at it as if it broke on purpose. Severus shot a _Reparo_ in Remus's direction without even pausing in his writing. Sighing in annoyance, Remus continued writing. Mulciber narrowed his eyes. He did not like being ignored, and Remus was quite adept at rubbing the large Slytherin the wrong way in this manner.

"Nothing to say, Shorty?" Mulciber smirked. "You always were pathetic."

"At least I know how to hold my wand, Mully," Remus retorted, unable to resist this one barb. He was referring to a time last year when he had successfully cast an illusion on Mulciber's wand that caused the latter to mistake the wand tip for the handle. The result was the Enlarging Spell he attempted to cast on Remus was aimed at himself instead.

"What did you just call me?" Mulciber said in a dangerously quiet voice, causing the remaing boys to stop what they were doing at watch the unfolding drama. Peter's eyes were wide in anticipation. James had one hand on his wand in his pocket, and Sirius had his wand out under the desk. Severus cast a sidelong glance at Remus.

"You heard me," Remus said quietly, still writing away. "Unless your hearing is as pathetic as your duelling."

BANG! Remus suddenly found himself flung out of his seat and thrown against the wall.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Next thing they knew, Mulciber's wand flew out of his hand and the Slytherin was flung into the air with such force that he hit his head on the ceiling. Sirius let him drop to the ground none too gently and James lowered his wand.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked as the two dark-haired boys helped the smaller boy to his feet.

"'M fine," Remus muttered, glancing in dismay at the ink splattered all over his robes.

_"Scourgify!"_

"Are you always such a mother hen?" Remus grumbled at Severus, inspecting his now-clean robes.

"You'll get used to it," Peter piped up. "Severus usually helps us clean up our messes."

"Helps?" Severus repeated in astonishment. "Don't you mean I usually clean your bloody mess for you?"

"It's all the same," said James, kneeling down to inspect the unmoving Slytherin. "Should we call for help?"

"You didn't do any damage," Remus stated, picking up his quill once more. "Just leave him, he'll wake up in a few minutes."

James and Sirius returned to their seats, any concern for the Slytherin banished from their minds.

"You shouldn't insult his duelling skills if yours aren't up to scratch," Sirius commented.

"I let him do that!" Remus protested. "Give him a false sense of security and all that."

"He could have hurt you really bad like that," Peter spoke up.

"I've had worse," Remus muttered.

There was silence. Remus paused uncomfortably when he realized he was the only one writing now. He looked up from his parchment to find four pairs of eyes on him. "You do realize McGonagall will be back in two hours? I've only got one chapter done."

With horrified looks at the clock, they began scribbling away at their parchments. No one gave the Slytherin a second glance, even when he groaned and sat up. Severus was the first one done. He sighed in relief, knowing that no matter what happened now, at least he wasn't doomed to copy down the entire book now. He decided to read more of the book to pass the time. Sirius and James finished at around the same time with less than an hour to spare and were now folding up paper birds and enchanting them to fly around the room, occasionally attacking each other. Remus scowled at this new distraction in irritation. Mulciber finished next and shot glares at the Gryffindors, but as he seemed to have finally realized he was indeed outnumbered, he kept his mouth shut for the duration of their detention. Remus finished with a quarter of an hour to spare, but Peter was scribbling away furiously, nervously glancing at the clock every few seconds. Luck seemed to be with him, because he finished just as the classroom door opened.

"I do hope you have learned your lesson," Professor McGonagall said as she collected their papers, although she looked doubtful at their reassurances.

"Just so you know," Mulciber said looking directly at Remus once they were out of the teacher's earshot, "I am not letting you off easy just because we no longer share a dorm."

"He's in _our_ dorm now," James said defensively. "That means if you mess with him, you mess with all of us."

"How touching," Mulciber sneered before stalking away.

"You shouldn't get involved," Remus said uneasily. "They know some nasty curses."

"I meant what I said," said James stubbornly. "Gryffindors stick together."


	9. Chapter 9

_So I am in an excellent mood. Yesterday was Easter and also my birthday so I thought it called for a double celebration. I not only updated here, but I also uploaded another Remus-centric story. I have several that haven't been uploaded, but I'm afraid if I upload them all, I'll be labelled as a Lupin-fanatic. Hmm, too late for that, I suppose. Oh, well. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

Remus awoke early Friday morning to find that once again, Sirius was the only one up.

"I have this strange sense of dejavu," Sirius commented as he combed his hair.

Remus flushed, remember how they started their morning yesterday. "I'm sorry about your hair," he said sincerely.

"Water under the bridge," Sirius shrugged.

"If it makes you feel any better, I had altered that spell with someone entirely different in mind," Remus said, leaning over the bed to check for his little pets.

"And who did you have in mind?" asked Sirius, now rummaging in his trunk.

"Malfoy," Remus said, peering under the bed. He stood up, frowning in consternation. Where could they have gone? "Have you seen Athena and Po?"

"Malfoy?" Sirius burst into laughter. "You were going to use that spell on Malfoy?"

"I said that's who I have in mind," Remus corrected, now peeking under Severus's bed. "I never said I would have the nerve to do it. We do need to find Athena and Po. If they aren't fed properly soon, they'll eat anything they find."

"Like socks, for instance?" asked Sirius, holding one of his up and poking a finger through a hole.

"Like socks," Remus agreed with a sigh. "There is no telling what else they have gotten into."

Sirius's eyes widened. "What will they chew up if they don't eat?"

"The sky's the limit,"said Remus, shaking out the curtains of his bed. "Books, clothes, wood, quills, leather, shoes- they love shoestrings, by the way-"

"That isn't good," said Sirius. "I mean, McGonagall isn't going to believe us when we say, 'The sugar gliders ate my homework.'"

"No she won't," Remus agreed.

"They could potentially ruin our day!" Sirius moaned.

"They could."

"EVERYONE UP!" Sirius hollered. "WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!"

"Go stuff yourself," came Severus's muffled voice.

Sirius ran to Severus and pulled him out of bed. "Up now," he ordered. "Whoever isn't up in the next ten seconds will enjoy an ice shower."

That got Peter and James up.

"What's going on?" asked James sleepily.

"The rats are missing," Sirius announced dramatically.

"Sugar gliders," Remus corrected automatically.

"You got us up early for that?" Peter squeaked.

"Like I said, it's an emergency," said Sirius. "Apparently if they aren't fed soon, they'll eat us out of our dorm. You don't want to walk around with holes in your clothes, do you?"

That set off a hunt in their dorm. Of course, no one was sure how long this would take, so they were getting ready for their day while they searched.

"So, when we find the little critters, can we go with you to the kitchen?" asked James, shaking out his robe before putting it on.

"Um, sure," Remus shrugged uncertainly.

"Excellent!" Sirius said excitedly. "No one upset Remus today. I want to see the kitchen."

"You're the only one who has done any upsetting," Severus pointed out.

"Yes," James agreed. "Remember, Remus's hair is off-limits."

"Did you guys hear something?" Peter said suddenly.

Everyone fell silent and listened. Remus smiled. They heard a series of tiny yips coming from the direction of the window, as well as a loud rapping sound. Sirius flung open the curtain covering the window and shrieked as two tiny masses flew at him. "Help! I'm under attack!" he yelled.

"Stand still," said Remus.

"I CAN'T! IT TICKLES!" Sirius hopped around as the other boys attempted to get the creatures off of him. Suddenly he stood still.

"Where did they go?" Severus asked tentatively.

Sirius gingerly patted himself down. "In my pocket," he said at last.

"Oh, good, then we're good to go," James said in relief.

"Someone has an owl," said Peter, pointing at the window.

Severus walked over and opened the window. Immediately an owl flew in and dropped a package on Remus's bed.

"More brownies?" Sirius said hopefully.

Remus shook his head. He opened the package. "I guess Mum heard about the Sorting," he said, lifting out school robes lined with the traditional red of Gryffindor.

"Put them on, put them on!" Sirius said excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other. "Now you can be a real Gryffindor!"

Five minutes later, Remus was out of his Slytherin robes in favor of the Gryffindor robes. He stared at his reflection in awe, entirely unused to the color.

"Red suits you," James said in satisfaction. "Off to the kitchen!"

The boys followed Remus eagerly through the portrait hole. The Fat Lady sighed in annoyance at being woken up so early, but they hardly noticed.

"How did you find the kitchen?" asked Peter.

"Followed Slughorn one night," Remus replied. "I thought it odd that he was up after hours since he hardly ever patrols at night."

"What were you doing up after hours?" James asked with a smirk.

"Hiding from Bellatrix," Remus replied. "Or it might have been one of the LeStrange brothers. Or Malfoy. Or the Three Stooges. Or the gorillas. Or-"

"The Three Stooges?" Severus echoed.

"My former dorm-mates," Remus elaborated.

"And the gorillas?" James asked.

"Crabbe and Goyle."

"So why were you hiding from other Slytherins?" asked Sirius.

Remus mumbled something inaudible under his breath.

"Meow!"

All five boys froze.

There, sitting primly in the middle of the hall, was a white cat. Two scraggly kittens prowled towards the boys.

"She reproduced?" Remus squeaked. "Whose sick idea was this?"

Sirius yelped as the sugar gliders leaped out of his pocket and scampered down the hall. Immediately the kittens gave chase and the white cat, Mrs. Norris, prowled closer to the boys.

"Run!" squealed Peter, turning and taking off in the opposite direction.

"Good idea," Sirius said breathlessly.

"Wait! I can't let those monsters get Athena and Po!" Remus yelped. He then tore off after the kittens. With a hiss, Mrs. Norris ran after Remus, probably looking after her kittens.

"Oh, no! Remus is going to be shredded to pieces by that evil family!" Sirius moaned.

"No, he is not!" James said dramatically. "We shall save him! Onward!" With that, he took off after Mrs. Norris.

"This is how we end up in detention," Severus muttered.

"Don't be such a coward, Sev," said Sirius. "James, wait! You can't do this alone!"

Severus sighed. "Why do I let them do this to me?"

Remus skidded to a halt. Where did the little demons go? Hearing a terrified yip, Remus started running again. He stopped and stared in horror at the sight before him. The kittens had backed his little pets into a corner and were advancing menacingly. Remus narrowed his eyes. Seriously. Kittens versus werewolf? No competition. Remus grabbed the little monsters by the scruffs of their necks and contemplated what to do with them. If he put them down, they were sure to go right back to chasing their prey.

"Yeow!" Remus yelped as he felt claws sink into his back. He dropped the kittens in favor of reaching for his wand. He shot spells over his shoulder, but judging by the fact that the evil claws were sinking deeper into his back, his spells were missing their target by a wide margin. He reached over his shoulder with his wand-free hand to get rid of the beast manually, only to jerk it back due to a vicious bite.

"Gotcha!"

Suddenly, Remus was cat-free-for the moment. He turned around to see James drop the white cat on the ground and Sirius pointed his wand at it.

"You'll get detention!" Severus hissed at him.

"Not without proof that it was us," Sirius said nonchalently. "Cats can't talk."

The two sugar gliders took off between Sirius's legs, the kittens scampering after them.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Remus yelled. Then the chase continued. They ran through corridor after corridor, trying to catch up with the kittens and at the same time trying to avoid the white demon. Finally, Remus managed to close the distance between them and made a dive for the feline monsters. Unfortunately, he was so focused on the chase that he hadn't noticed that they had begun descending a staircase. Suddenly, he and the cats were tumbling head-over-heels down the stairs. Behind them, Sirius skidded to a halt, and James ran into him, sending both boys tumbling down the steps after them. Severus had made a grab for the two to prevent them from falling, but he missed and ended up losing his balance. The four boys ended up in a heap of boy and fur at the bottom of the staircase.

There was silence for a few minutes as all of them fought to catch their breath. Then- "Mission accomplished!" Sirius announced staring at the two sugar gliders in his hand.

"Good, now can you guys get off me?" came Remus's muffled voice from somewhere at the bottom of the heap.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, once again they fail to reach the kitchen. **


	10. Chapter 10

Remus grabbed a dish of chocolate eclairs and proceeded to empty half of it onto his plate. Then he piled six pancakes on his plate and drowned them in chocolate syrup. He frowned and scanned the breakfast table once more. He blinked in surprise when a dozen sausages were dumped onto his plate. He glanced up sheepishly into his sister's glaring eyes.

"Eat something healthy," Raina admonished.

Remus's brow furrowed at he glared at the rude intrusion onto an otherwise tempting plate.

"What are you, his mother?" Sirius said insolently.

"I'm his sister, and I'm not leaving this table until he starts on those sausages," Raina snapped, staring intensely at Remus.

"Chocolate is healthy," Remus muttered. "It makes me happy, and anything that makes me happy is healthy."

Raina crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

Remus scowled and picked up his fork and stabbed it into the pile of pancakes.

"Ahem!"

Remus sighed. He picked up what appeared to be the smallest sausage. He wrinkled his nose and gazed longingly at the chocolate syrup oozing out of the pancakes. Then his expression brightened and he then covered the sausage with some of the excess chocolate syrup and swallowed it whole.

"Not bad," he commented.

"You are impossible!" Raina flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked off toward the Ravenclaw table.

"Sausage, anyone?"

"Absolutely!" Sirius exclaimed, reaching for Remus's plate.

Remus smacked his hand away. "Sausage only. Do not touch my chocolate," he said in a threatening tone.

Sirius held up his hands in surrender. "Sausage is good," he said quickly. "I don't even like chocolate."

Remus's eyes widened. "How can you not like chocolate? It is the most important food there is!" he exclaimed.

"It was a joke!" Sirius said quickly. "I adore chocolate!"

"You will not adore _my_ chocolate," Remus snapped.

"Okay," Sirius frowned for a moment. "I love chocolate, but I will not touch _your_ chocolate, Rem."

"Wow, you thought that one through, didn't you?" Severus said in surprise. "Guess you do use your brain occasionally."

Sirius threw a slice of toast at him. Severus peeled it off his face. Judging by the lack of jam on the bread, his face was a mess. Severus glared at the culprit. "You'll regret that," he said angrily. He pointed his wand at the glass of orange juice Sirius had just raised to his lips. Within moments, all the juice in the glass leaked out of the bottom and dripped into Sirius's lap. Sirius jumped to his feet, staring in dismay at the sticky mess on his robes while Severus tried to wipe the jam from his face. Remus stood up and took his plate down to the other end of the table and sat down next to Lily, where he watched in safety while Sirius upended a plate of scrambled eggs onto Severus's head. Severus retaliated by pouring a silver dish of maple syrup down Sirius's robes.

"They can't even eat properly," Lily complained as McGonagall made her way over to their table. "So, Remus, any plans for today?"

"Study," Remus shrugged.

"Oh, good, you can study with me!" Lily smiled brightly. "And there's a third-year I want you to meet!" She frowned distastefully at his plate. "Like chocolate, do you?"

"A little bit," Remus said, digging into his pancakes.

Lily dragged Remus from the breakfast table before he could slip any more eclairs onto his plate and make them late for class.

"Lily, it's History of Magic! Binns won't even notice whether or not we're late!" Remus protested.

"I have a perfect record," Lily retorted, "I'm not about to let you ruin it now."

"Then don't wait for me," said Remus, staring longingly back at the Great Hall.

Remus sighed as they found some seats and pulled out a quill and some parchment and waited for the class to begin. Remus stared out the window and felt jolt as he gazed at the remnant's of last night's moon. Remus glanced sideways at Lily and wondered if she would be so friendly if she knew what kind of animal she was sitting next to.

He had almost forgotten what McGonagall had said about making excuses for his absences. He realized it was very necessary, seeing how the full moon was the day after tomorrow. Mulciber, Dolohov, and Macnair could care less where he spent his time, so long as he didn't spend it with them. Oh, sure, they love to go to all the trouble of seeking him out when they felt like fighting, but they didn't like sharing their personal space with a half-blood.

The Gryffindors were different. Remus had very few moments of peace from them. It was nice that they clambered around him without feeling the need to curse him, but they would be curious if he was gone all night, and they would definitely notice if he was gone all day. Remus frowned thoughtfully. He would need to think of long-term excuses that would sustain him for the upcoming months as well. How on earth was he going to keep this up for the next six years. Remus sighed. Maybe getting re-Sorted wasn't such a good idea.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," a familiar voice grumbled.

Remus forced himself to calm down. It wouldn't do to appear stressed out before the first week of school was out.

Sirius gingerly lowered into his chair, making a disgusted face as he did so. "Can you believe Minnie wouldn't even let us change before class?" he complained. "Now I'm all sticky, and Sevvy wont even Scourgify me."

Severus scowled, shaking his head. He still had bits of scrambled egg in his hair, the light egg contrasting horribly with his dark hair.

"It's your own fault," Lily scoffed.

"Who asked you, Evans?" Sirius sneered.

The professor floated into the classroom through the chalkboard and Sirius shook the front of his robes. "Now I can't even nap!" he whined. "The stickiness will keep me awake!"

"You could always take notes," Severus said sourly.

Sirius grumbled and tugged at his robes again. "Eeeww! Now my hands are sticky!" he moaned.

"Hush!" Lily hissed as Binns began to speak.

Sirius sullenly grabbed a quill and absent-mindedly doodled on a piece of parchment. Remus kept his eyes focused on the teacher and taking his own notes. James yawned, his head sinking lower and lower, and within minutes he was fast asleep. Peter's eyes were slowly drifting shut. Severus rolled his eyes and began taking notes.

Remus glanced distractedly in Sirius's direction. Sirius was waving his hand wildly, trying to get the parchment off his very sticky hand. Remus stared from the ghostly teacher to Sirius in amazement, wondering why the ghost didn't even notice the commotion. Remus turned his head in the other direction in attempt to ignore him, but this had him staring out the window at the ghost of a moon.

Remus shook his head. He yanked his bag open and stuffed his quill and unfinished notes in it and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed.

"Leaving," Remus shrugged.

He walked out the door and walked down the hall. At the end of the hall, he stopped and looked back in amazement. Binns truly did not notice anyone had left. Remus shook his head and walked on, thinking he would go to the dorm and study for a little while without any distractions to bother him.

"Wait for me!"

Remus turned around again as Sirius ran to join him.

"Evans looked like she was going to have a stroke," Sirius laughed.

"History is just memorization," Remus shrugged.

"Can we stop by the bathroom?" Sirius asked. "I really would like to get cleaned up."

Remus stopped in front of a bathroom. He gestured at the doorway grandly, "Ladies first," he said with a devilish grin.

"Ladies? Why you little-"

Remus laughed and shoved Sirius into the bathroom. "I'll wait out here while you finish beautifying yourself," he said.

"Suit yourself," Sirius huffed. "Just for your cheek I'll take my sweet old time."

Remus raised an eyebrow and pulled a book out of his bag. "Knock yourself out," he replied. He then slid to the floor and begun reading the second chapter on non-verbal spells.

Remus became so engrossed in his reading that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him from down the corridor. In fact, he didn't even notice anyone's presence until a shadow fell across him. Remus slowly closed his book and looked up. When he did so, he thought his heart had jumped in his throat. There, glaring down at Remus with his arms crossed was Lucius Malfoy.

_Never show your fear._ Remus forced a smile on his face. "Hello, Lucy," he said brightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"We have a score to settle," Malfoy smiled nastily. "Since we're all alone, this is the perfect time to do so."

Without warning, Malfoy reached down and lifted the smaller boy from the ground by the collar of his robes. He then slammed Remus into the stone wall, pinning him to the wall with his feet dangling at least a foot from the ground. Remus struggled vainly against his vice-like grip."S-surely we can settle this like- like civilized-"

"Did you just imply that I wasn't civilized?" Malfoy breathed dangerously.

Remus shook his head frantically and yelped when Malfoy slammed him even harder into the wall. With one hand, Malfoy kept Remus pinned against the wall, and the other hand whipped out a wand. Remus stared fearfully at Malfoy's wand, knowing he would never reach his own wand in time. Malfoy whispered, _"Contraho!"_ even as Remus searched his pockets urgently for his wand.

Just as Remus raised his own wand, his air passage constricted and he panicked when he realized he couldn't breathe. Malfoy released his grip and Remus slid to the ground. Remus struggled to bring air into his lungs, his wand clattering uselessly to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a voice behind Remus rang out.

There was some commotion around him but Remus didn't comprehend it. His world was spinning wildly and his vision was slowing growing darker and darker.

* * *

><p>Sirius sighed contentedly and took one more look in the mirror. At long last he was free of that abhorrent syrup Severus had seen fit to pour all over him. True, he had had to drench himself with water, but that was nothing a few Drying Charms couldn't take care of. Sirius pulled out his wand and began casting said Drying Charms on himself. He hadn't fully gotten himself dried off when he heard a yelp of pain from out in the corridor. Sirius froze and turned towards the door, a cold feeling settling in his stomach. He had only left Remus out there for ten minutes. Surely nothing serious could have happened in that short span of time?<p>

Then Sirius heard James's furious voice, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sirius rushed out of the bathroom. He took one look at Malfoy's smug face and didn't even hesitate before sending out the first hex that came to mind, barely aware of James and Severus's voices mingling with his own.

Somehow, Malfoy dodged the spells from all three of them and disappeared around a corner. Sirius bristled in rage and started to go after him, but Severus held him back. "Another time," Severus muttered.

Sirius started to argue, but his angry words stuck in his throat as Peter's shrill panicked voice broke through his mind. "He- he's not breathing!"

The other three boys knelt down. Remus was still trying his hardest to get some air, but it was not working. Remus started to panic, which made it worse, and he was started to go limp.

"_Aperio!"_ Severus snapped with a flick of his wand. No change. His eyes widened and he began muttering spell after spell, his breathing growing faster as he, too, started to panic. _"Finite!"_

At long last, Remus gasped, and the boys all sighed in relief. Remus shakily sat up as his vision slowly returned. He was startled to find himself surrounded by his dorm-mates, but rather than send him into another panic-attack, he felt oddly calmer.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"M-Malfoy-" Remus shuddered.

"We chased him away, the coward," James said in disgust. His hazel eyes darkened in anger. "We should tell a teacher."

"There's no- no need," Remus whispered. "I'm f-fine."

"No need?" Sirius demanded. "He could have killed you!"

"But he didn't," Remus mumbled.

"He could have," Sirius repeated. "You should at least go to the hospital wing."

"No! I said I'm fine," Remus protested. "I just need to- need to catch my breath is all."

"You weren't breathing!" Severus said insistantly. "We should at least make sure..."

But Severus's words were growing further and further away as Remus's world faded to black once more...


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

Remus scowled at the reception waiting for him outside the Hospital Wing. He didn't mind at first, but now they were starting to irritate him. Could he not have even a moment of peace?

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked.

"At eight? On a Friday?" Sirius scoffed. "Are you kidding me?"

Remus stole a glance at his watch. It was earlier than he thought it was.

"We're due in detention," Peter piped up.

"Then what are you doing here?" Remus asked in exasperation. Did they have no sense of self-preservation?

"We're making sure you make it to Gryffindor Tower in one piece," James said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I wouldn't put it past those sneaky Slytherins to assault you just after you got out of the Hospital Wing."

Remus narrowed his eyes. This was getting ridiculous. "And you didn't think I could manage that without help?"

"I left you alone for five minutes," Sirius exclaimed. "Five minutes! Five minutes, and you managed to get yourself strangled by Malfoy!"

"Can we please get moving?" Severus pleaded. "We're late enough as it is, and if McGonagall catches us on our way to Gryffindor Tower instead of on our way to detention-"

"Fine, fine, let's go," James sighed, rolling his eyes.

Remus resigned himself to the fact that the Marauders were indeed going to escort him all the way to Gryffindor Tower.

"Malfoy was suspended, did you hear?" Sirius blurted out as they started on their way.

"He was?" Remus said in surprise.

"For a week!" Peter added in excitement.

"A week," Remus murmured. That was not good; Malfoy was going to be furious when he got back.

"Plus a week of detention when he gets back," Severus added with a scowl. "Personally, I think he should have been expelled for a stunt like that."

"He should have been carted off to Azkaban for attempted murder!" Sirius said heatedly.

"Don't be so naive," Remus retorted. "He's a pureblood, and he has connections. His father has connections in the School Board and in the DMLE, and there are dozens of people who owe him favors. He won't be expelled."

"You seem to know a lot about the Malfoy family," Severus commented.

"There aren't a lot of secrets between Slytherins," Remus muttered.

"You could bring him down a notch or two if you pressed charges," said James. "My dad is an Auror. He could-"

"No," Remus said firmly.

"Are you afraid of him?" Severus asked quietly.

Remus stiffened. "I can't provoke him too much," he said.

"Why not?" Sirius demanded. "You can't just let him walk all over you! You're a Gryffindor!"

Before Remus could answer, there was a voice behind them.

"Is there a reason you four are not in detention?"

"We were making sure Remus reach the common room all right, Professor!" Sirius said brightly.

"Mr. Lupin is perfectly capable of walking to Gryffindor Tower without help," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "My classroom! Now!"

Sirius scowled darkly. "If you aren't there when we get out of detention, someone's going to pay," he told Remus.

"I'll be fine," Remus said in amusement. "You wait and see. They aren't stupid enough to attack me twice in the same day."

Remus watched them follow McGonagall in the opposite direction then turned to be on his way. The corridors were deserted; Remus supposed everyone was in their common rooms. He was actually looking forward to a couple hours to read undisturbed. Maybe he'd even be able to do a non-verbal before the night was up.

"Look what it is, boys! It's wee little Remmykins!"

Remus gulped. This was not happening. It couldn't be happening.

"Turn around when you are addressed by your betters, half- blood," a menacing voice drawled.

Remus cast a glance over his shoulder and saw that he was being followed by Bellatrix Black and the two Lestrange brothers. Remus took a deep breath. Of all the people to run into in a deserted corridor! Bellatrix knew a wide range of wickedly painful hexes and curses, and seeing how the Lestrange brothers were still fighting for her sole attention, they would be focusing all their energy on impressing her.

"My sister is sooo upset," Bellatrix said in what she clearly thought was a concerned voice. "Her precious betrothed will be gone for a whole week, and it's all thanks to you!"

"I'm sorry, I don't have time for idle chat, I have studying to do," Remus said, weighing his options. He was smaller than them, so he would be harder to catch, but they had longer legs, and so would be faster on their feet. However, he didn't stand much of a chance facing them off with a wand. Bellatrix alone could dance circles around him in a duel.

"IDLE CHAT?" Bellatrix shrieked. "You think we would waste time in IDLE CHAT with the likes of YOU?" She whipped out her wand, and Rodolphus and Rabastan did likewise.

Without a second thought, Remus took off at a run, dodging the flurry of curses sent in his direction. He whipped around a corner, not even caring where he was going as long as it took him away from _them._ Remus pulled out his wand as he ran, feeling safer with it in his hand rather than in his pocket. Remus turned another corner and shot a Featherweight Charm behind him. He heard a boy's scream of rage and knew it had slowed at least one of them down, but it had by no means stopped them. Why were the teachers only patrolling the halls when you didn't want them to? Remus would welcome some interference any time now.

Remus slammed the door of an empty classroom shut just as he turned another corner, knowing that it would put more distance between them while they searched a classroom they thought he was hiding inside. But he wasn't stupid enough to believe it would detain them for long. Sure enough, he could hear their distant footsteps, and decided to slam a few more doors shut along the way. When he felt like they were far enough away, he slipped inside yet another empty classroom and shut the door quietly. He shut the door quietly and cast a charm on the door to make it blend in with the stone wall. He frowned at his wandwork. Had he cast the spell right? Did the wall truly blend in with the wall, or did it only blend in on this side of the door?

_Idiot!_ He berated himself. If the spell didn't work right, the three Slytherins would definitely find him in here. He had successfully trapped himself in a classroom with no way out.

Remus added a Locking Spell to the door. It wouldn't keep them out, as the counter to that spell was standard first-year magic, but it would buy him just a little time.

He glanced around the classroom. Maybe he could hit them over the heads with a chair? Or levitate a desk and drop it on top of one of them? He shook his head dismissively. That might work if there was only one of them, but the other two were sure to catch on if one of them got knocked out. Remus started to panic as their footsteps drew nearer. If he didn't come up with some sort of plan soon, he was going to end up back in the Hospital Wing. As insane as Bellatrix was, he was likely to be there indefinitely.

Remus' gaze fell on the window. _Maybe..._ But on a closer look, Remus realized this classroom was on the second floor. He'd break his neck if he jumped! His heart raced when he heard the doorknob rattle. His spell didn't work! Remus opened the window. Maybe if he cast the Featherweight Charm on himself _before_ he jumped. Remus frowned, thinking fast. If it didn't work, he was committing suicide. If it did work, though... Remus climbed on the windowsill. Either way, it was better than being at the mercy of Bellatrix and her devoted admirers. He pointed his wand at himself, muttered the incantation, and jumped. Rather than falling, as he expect, Remus felt a curious _floating_ sensation. It was working! Remus grinned. Oh, yes, it was working!

Remus landed gently on the ground. He sighed in relief. He had successfully eluded them. He blinked in the darkness and shivered, but not from cold. He had never been out here this late. Even on full moon nights, he was always safely tucked away in the Shrieking Shack before dark. How late was it anyway? Remus cast a quick Lumos and glanced at his watch. 9:35! Where did the time go? He had better get back before he was caught. It was past curfew!

Remus made his way back to the entrance doors as quickly as he could, but there was a nasty surprise waiting for him when he pulled the doors open. "Welcome back, Lupin," Bellatrix said breathlessly. She must have run the whole way here just so she could get here before he did. But how had she known he was outside?

"Typical Gryffindor," Rabastan sneered. "Casting a Lumos in the dark where anyone could see!"

Remus whirled around and ran from the castle, the Slytherins following closely behind him. Up ahead of him, Remus could see the light in Hagrid's hut. Could Hagrid help him? He probably could, but by the time Hagrid answered Remus' knock, it would be too late. So Remus bolted into the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps he could lose them in here, then head back to the castle. The thought of Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers stumbling around the forest in the dark while he was safe and warm in the castle was a delicious thought. But he shouldn't get cocky. They could easily catch up to him, and there was no chance of anyone coming across them in the forest. Nobody even knew they were there!

Remus paused for a brief second. Maybe they hadn't followed him in here. Maybe they figured he'd get lost, and they would head back to the castle and have a good laugh at his expense. But heavy footsteps told Remus this wasn't the case. No, they were taking advantage of the fact that the four of them were all alone out here. Remus narrowed his eyes. For once, he could see a good side to having his lunar problem. Werewolves had an excellent sense of direction, and with the full moon only a couple days away, he had a perfect advantage.

Remus started to run again, making enough noise so they would have no doubt about where he was. He changed direction every so often, so they would be good and lost by the time he was through with them. At one point they were much too close for comfort, and Remus employed total silence while they paused and listened to the night. When he deemed himself far enough ahead, he started up the noise again. At long last Remus stopped to catch his breath. Now he was ready to head back to the castle, just as soon as his heart stopped pounding. Remus listened for a couple minutes while Bellatrix argued with her admirers about which way their quarry went. Remus smiled to himself. Quietly, he circled around the trio and turned back in the direction of Hogwarts. As he gazed at the landmarks around him he realized he didn't even need to use his werewolf senses. He knew exactly where he was from his many foraging trips into the forest for Slughorn.

Remus wearily made his way down the corridors, wishing Gryffindor Tower was located on the ground floor.

"Where have you been?" a voice demanded the moment Remus stepped into the boys' dormitory.

Remus groaned. The four of them were all wide awake and waiting for him, it seemed.

"Well?" Sirius demanded.

Even Peter looked a little peeved.

"We came back from scrubbing down the Trophy Room, ready to sail away to Dreamland, only to find you gone!" James harped. "We were about to go looking for you!"

"Where were you?" Sirius demanded.

"Long story short, I ran into Trixy and her not-so-secret admirers and only managed to lose them a little while ago." Remus smiled at the double meaning of that statement.

"Trixy? As in my sweet cousin, Bellatrix?" Sirius asked.

"Sweet?" Remus repeated. "You think she's sweet? What is wrong with you?"

"He was being sarcastic, you dunce," James said in exasperation, throwing a pillow at Remus.

"So, what's the detailed version of the story?" asked Sirius. "What did she do to you?"

"Nothing," Remus replied. "I told you, I can take care of myself."

Severus raised a dark eyebrow. "What did you do to her, then?" he asked.

Remus kicked his shoes off. "They chased me up and down the corridors. I wasn't stupid enough to try to take on all three of them by myself. I got trapped in an empty classroom on the second floor. There was no way out, so I jumped out the window, using a Featherweight Charm. They followed me into the forest, but they didn't follow me out. They're still there, as far as I know."

The other four boys stared at him.

"Let me get this straight," Sirius sat down. "Trixy and her friends chased you, you jumped out a window, and you got them lost in the Forbidden Forest?"

Remus smiled. "It does sound crazy, doesn't it?" he said.

"Actually, it sounds very..." Severus racked his brain trying to find the right word.

"Gryffindor," James supplied.

"Of course it sounds Gryffindor!" Sirius said indignantly. "Why else would he be sitting here talking to us?"

* * *

><p><strong>Almost full moon! How is Remus going to pull it off convincingly?<strong>

**Quick question. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about the Great Revelation, so I may need a slight nudge. I have two options, and I have a storyline ready for either choice. Should the boys find out about Remus' furry little problem on their own? It shouldn't take them too long with Severus being one of them. Or should Remus end up telling them himself? One little hint: Remus' moon issues are not the only secret he's hiding, nor is it even his most dangerous secret!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am sooooooo sorry about the long wait between updates. Life happened to me. I moved into my first aoartment and got a new job and then my computer died on me. I have now replaced it with a tablet, so I can get moving on my fics. Hope it was worth the wait! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

Remus opened his eyes, took one look at the bed hangings, and quickly shut his eyes. He truly adored Madame Pomphrey, but he detested the Hospital Wing. Since the two came as package deal, he would have preferred to avoid the two altogether, but since he turned into a raving lunatic from time to time, that just wasn't logical, not to mention more self-destructive than he needed to be. If he pretended he was still out cold, she couldn't cram any more potions down his throat, but if he let her see he was awake, he could get it all over with faster.

Mind made up, Remus opened his eyes once more and sighed in resignation. Fighting back a groan of pain, he reached for a mirror on the bedside table. He spent the next few minutes studying his reflection. His eyes looked more yellow than amber at the moment, but they were already beginning to darken to their usual shade. His hair looked a little wild, but fortunately that was its normal look. What brought Remus the most relief was the fact that while he tore himself apart last night, he somehow managed to avoid clawing at his face, the most visible part of his body.

"Remy?"

Remus's eyes widened. That wasn't Madame Pomphrey's voice! But who would be visiting him the morning after the full moon? Then he caught a glimpse of sandy curls. He cocked his head curiously as his sister stepped around the curtain. He knew she regretted keeping her distance last year, but he had assumed an apology was as far as she'd go towards making amends.

"What are you doing here?"Remus asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't I come?" Raina said in confusion. "You shouldn't have to be alone the morning after just because you're at school!"

"You're hovering ,"Remus said irritably.

"I'm your sister,"Raina replied. "That's my job."

"No, that's Mum's job," Remus retorted. "Your job is to be the annoying sister because you scare me when you suddenly go into Mum Mode. It's not natural."

Raina smirked. "That's the beauty of being a woman,"she said, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "We can multi-task."

Remus snorted. "You're no woman,''he said. "You're just a ridiculous sister."

"And you are just a kid!" Raina scoffed. "What would you know?"

"But this is an emergency!"

The Lupin siblings froze at the commotion outside the Hospital Wing. "Do they know you're here?" Remus shook his head, frowning. He had a story in his head already prepared for when he saw his dorm-mates later today, but it wouldn't work if they saw him in here now. Obviously a different story was needed now. Before he could think further on the matter, the doors burst open and James stormed inside- or at least that's what it looked like. It was difficult to tell, as the bottom half of James's body was missing. The upper half of his body was bobbing up and down now, as James was steadily growing more and more agitated. "Potter, I'm afraid I can't help you if you don't tell me what curse was used, " Madame Pomphrey was saying.

The other three Marauders filed inside the Hospital Wing, all three looking equally guilty.

"Remus! We were looking for you yesterday!" Peter piped other four boys were suddenly crowded around Remus' bed, and then Sirius asked the inevitable question. "What are you doing here?"

"He had a nasty allergic reaction," Raina cut in. "We don't know whether it was caused by the whole headache potion or something in it or if it was the fumes from another potion in here."

"Let me get this straight," said James. "You had an allergic reaction to something in here and no one has figured out what it is yet?"

Remus nodded. "What happened to you?"

The four of the exchanged glances. "It's all Severus's fault!" James exclaimed. "All 'cause he wanted to make some extra money!"

"Yes, it's because of that book!"Sirius added.

"James doesn't have legs because of a book?" Remus said skeptically.

"I do have legs!"James said indignantly. "You just can't see them because we don't know how to reverse the spell.

"What was the incantation?" Madam Pomphrey asked wearily.

"_Now you see me, now you don't,"_Sirius recited at once.

"That's not a spell!" Raina scoffed.

"It is, too!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's in Sev's book! Show them, Sev!"

Severus reluctantly pulled out a brand new book.

"Spells That Don't Work?" Raina read the title aloud. She stared at Severus in disgust. "Who in their right minds would waste their time on a book with a title like that?"

"The author is offering money to anyone who can doctor up these spells to make them do what they're supposed to!" Severus said defensively.

"She is offering one hundred galleons for each spell you correct so she can put it in her next book," James added. "I told him why bother with all that work when you've got me, but will he listen?"

"I don't need your charity!" Severus snapped.

"If you are all quite finished, I am going to have to ask all of you to leave," Madame Pomphrey interrupted.

"But my legs-" James protested.

"Are beginning to reappear as we speak," the nurse said wearily.

Sure enough, James' legs were becoming visible. They were still transparent, but they were growing more solid by the second.

"My legs!"James exclaimed excitedly."They're back! My legs are back!" He jumped up and down and spun in circles. "I love my legs! I'll never look at them in the same way again!"

"THIS IS NOT A CIRCUS!" Madame Pomphrey yelled."EVERYONE OUT! Not you, Remus. You stay."

"I am not leaving without Remus! "Sirius said loudly. "We spent the entire night looking for him, I want to keep him right where I can see him."

"He'll be with you in a few minutes," the nurse reassured him. "If you'll wait in the hall, I have one more diagnosticstest I want to run before releasing him."

"Oh. That's all right, then. We'll just wait for you in the hall, Remus."

Remus sighed as the door closed behind them. "I'm not going to get a moment of peace from them, am I?" he asked.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Severus sat on a sofa in the Gryffindor common room, his new book and fresh parchment in his lap and his wand in his hand. According to the book, he had done everything that _should_ result in a proper Invisibility Charm . Unfortunately , it was wrong , otherwise it wouldn't have made it into this particular book . The only problem was he couldn't figure out what was going wrong with the charm . If he could correct just one spell ... one hundred galleons could go a long way if he was careful . He could buy some decent-looking robes for one thing, maybe even a cauldron that didn't leak.

"I'm bored. Who wants to go for a fly around the Astronomy Tower with me ?" James said suddenly .

"I'll race you!"Sirius said brightly .

"I-I'll just watch," Peter said hesitantly .

"Sev ? you coming?" asked James.

"I'm better off on the ground , thank you," Severus growled in annoyance .

"Spoilsport ," Sirius grumbled . "Come on, Remus , while it's still light outside."

"Not in the mood, " the smaller boy mumbled.

"Fine . Sev , keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't lapse back into his Slytherin ways."

"Whatever ,"Severus muttered .

The other three boys disappeared through the portrait hole . "I don't need a babysitter !" Remus snapped suddenly .

Severus looked up from his book in surprise . "I was only humoring them,"he said quickly. "If you want to go off on your own I'm not going to stop you."

Remus visibly relaxed and sat down beside Severus , opening the book he was reading. "Sorry ," he said quietly.

Severus shook his head. "I know how overwhelming they can can be at times,"he said.

"At times ?" Remus repeated. "Try all the time ."

Severus smiled. "You'll get used to it . I will admit , however , that it is refreshing to have someone more level-headed in the dorm with me. I could use help managing the other two."

Remus frowned. "Two?" he said in confusion.

"James and Sirius," Severus clarified. "Peter's not a problem at all. He's just a tagalong we tolerate only because we happen to share a dorm with him. "

The confusion cleared from the other boy's eyes, but his brow was still furrowed. Severus winced inwardly . He just wasn't good at socializing, and now he had given Remus the wrong impression of how their little group operated. He didn't have James's power of persuasion or Sirius's charm, so he would have to fix this his own way.

"It's like this , " Severus tried again. "If you bring something useful into the group, you're respected. James likes being center of attention , Sirius likes to make sure everyone knows he's the black sheep of his family, so they like to cause complete and utter chaos. They complement each other perfectly. Peter is their one-man fan club, and makes a decent lookout . I just try to dissuade them from doing anything illegal and try to keep them out of trouble, but with those two, it's a full-time job."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Severus stared at him in dismay. Was the kid truly dense ? Perhaps he should put it in even simpler terms. He took a deep breath and began again. " James and Sirius want to bring you into our little group. I know you're not like them-you're not as-as hyperactive as they are. That won't deter them at all. But you're not like Peter , either. You don't strike me as the sort to follow people around just to bask in their popularity. I need- well - how do I put this?-"

"Another voice of reason?" Remus suggested quietly.

Severus sagged in in sofa in exhaustion. " Yes," he said faintly. Merlin, but that was hard work ! And it lasted all of ten minutes!

"If you really think I can be any real help..." Remus voice trailed off.

Severus sat upright. "I don't think. I know you'll be an excellent help. You'll be a real asset. The things you can do with the simplest spells are amazing !"

"I'm afraid our dear professors don't share your enthusiasm ,"Remus said dryly. "They think it's downright annoying."

Severus smirked. "They think the same thing about the Marauders in general. See? You already fit in perfectly. And you'll need our help if you hope to survive against upset Slytherins ."

"If I'm fr-friends with you guys, you won't mind if I'm friends with Lily, too? It's just that you don't seem to like her very much ."

Severus smirked. "So Sirius was right. You _do_ have a girlfriend ," he teased.

Remus flushed. "I do not !" he protested. "She was there for me last year when no one else was. It was nice to have someone nice to talk to."

He fell silent suddenly, as if he thought he'd said too much. Severus fished around in his head for something, anything to say to cover up the awkward moment. Surprisingly , Remus beat him to it. "So you're still working on that book, I see," he said hesitantly.

"Yes !" Severus seized on the topic gratefully.

"One hundred galleons for each spell you straighten out, " Remus said thoughtfully. "How many spells are in that book?"

Severus glanced at the book in his lap. "About six hundred pages' worth of spells," he replied.

"That's a lot of money if you managed to straighten it all out, " Remus said carefully.

Severus's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting- but that would take a lifetime!" he exclaimed.

"Not if you had help ," Remus said quietly.

"Are you offering your help?" Severus asked.

"Well, it's right up my alley," Remus said with a shy smile. "I mean, do you have any idea how many teachers have to tell me repeatedly not to alter the spells we're learning? That's basically what you need to do to get through that book. But if you don't want any help I completely under-"

"Quit your babbling," Severus interrupted. "I can think of no one better to help shape these spells up. "

Remus's face lit up, and Severus smiled. He had never seen the other boy look so genuinely happy before. He was sure it didn't happen often, so he knew he wasn't going to regret having this talk.

"So what are you working on right now?"


End file.
